California Secures $100 Million for Electric Vehicle Chargers

A so-called electric expressway of vehicle charging stations is planned across populated swaths of California, with the help of $100 million secured by the state under a legal settlement that dates back more than a decade to the energy crisis.

Under the settlement agreement, announced Friday, NRG Energy Inc. will pay for the installation of 10,000 subscription-based electric vehicle chargers near hospitals, offices, multi-home buildings and other places. Additionally, 200 fast-charge stations ??capable of recharging a vehicle battery in less than an hour at a cost of $10 to $15???will be built in public places.

The work will begin as soon as the agreement is finalized and approved, and should take about four years to complete, said David Knox, a spokesman for?NRG.

The chargers will be installed in the San Francisco Bay Area, the San Joaquin Valley, in and around Los Angeles and in San Diego County.

Jay Friedland, legislative director for Plug In America, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that pushes for more electric vehicles on the streets, described the agreement as "historic."

Also Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown announced that he signed an executive order that directs state agencies to ensure that electric vehicle charging infrastructure is in place in all of the state's major cities by 2015, with a goal of bringing 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles to the roads by 2025.

?This executive order strengthens California?s position as a national leader in zero-emission vehicles,? Brown said in a statement, ?and the settlement will dramatically expand California's electric vehicle infrastructure, helping to clean our air and reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

In January, the?California Air Resources Board approved clean car regulations,?including a provision to ensure that one out of every seven cars sold in 2025 can run on electricity or fuel cells.

Friday's settlement agreement resolves claims against Dynegy Inc. over the price of power contracts signed in 2001,?during the California energy crisis. NRG took control of Dynegy's California assets and liabilities in 2006.

Under the deal, NRG will give the California Public Utilities Commission?an additional?$20 million, which will be used to reduce customers? electric?bills.

Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that Dynegy Inc. was 50 percent owned by NRG Energy Inc. in 2001.

Source: http://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/california-secures-100-million-electric/

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