Will the SF Bay Area Become the Electric Vehicle Capital of the U.S.?
The mayors of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland held a joint press conference on Nov. 20 to announce a plan for turning the Bay Area into the electric vehicle capital of the United States.
Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums announced the nine-step policy plan which will begin next month. Governor Schwarzenegger sent his "special advisor" David Crane.
The idea is that the local governments will expedite permitting for and regulation of electrical charging stations, convert government vehicles to electric, and establish whatever incentives they can to encourage businesses and individuals to go electric too.
This all sounds like a great idea, but there is a small detail that will probably need to change. As the Chronicle pointed out in this article, the plan involves giving a monopoly for the charging stations to a private firm.
"The touted Bay Area system will be built by Better Place, a Palo Alto company backed by private investors. The firm proposes installing thousands of parking-meter-size plugs in homes, lots, garages, and shopping centers for an electric fill-up. Also planned are battery swapping spots, where a depleted power package can be switched for a fresh one within minutes."
Since Better Place is putting in "up to a billion dollars" of private money, the deal is especially tempting for cash strapped, but visionary government officials. But the very concept of a monopoly in a new space with the huge potential of this one seems like a bad idea.
The Mayors announced policies include:
- Expedited permitting and installation of electric vehicle charging outlets at homes, business, parking lots, and other buildings throughout the Bay Area;
- Incentives for employers to install EV charging systems in their workplace and provide similar incentives to parking facilities and other locations where EV charging stations can be installed;
- Harmonize local regulations and standards across the region that govern EV infrastructure to achieve regulatory consistency for EV companies as well as expanded range for EV consumers;
- Establish common government programs that promote the purchase of EVs;
- Link EV programs and infrastructure to regional transit and air quality programs;
- Establish programs for aggressive pooled-purchase orders for EVs in municipal, state government and private sector fleets and future commitment of purchasing preference for EV vehicles;
- Expedited permitting and approval for facilities that provide extended-range driving capability for EVs in the region through battery exchange locations or fast-charging;
- Identify and secure suitable standard (110V) electric outlets for charging low voltage EVs in every government building in 2009; and
- Identify roll-out plan for placement of 220V EV charging equipment throughout each city including city
parking lots and curbside parking.
The effort will require a huge collaborative effort among multiple governmental bodies including the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Association of Bay Area Governments, as well as many private sector partners, including the members of the Bay Area Council and Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
The press conference video is available at San Francisco Government Television Video on Demand.
