A followup on the story about ECOtality charging stations in Oregon:
With its backyard chicken farms, recycling ethos, and nation-leading love affair with the Toyota Prius, Oregon has long been seen as the perfect test bed for electric cars.
So it was with some collective relief when Oregon's green credibility was reaffirmed in 2009 by its selection as one of six states to participate in the EV Project. The $230 million, stimulus-funded study is geared to put thousands of electric cars on the road across 18 cities, along with a network of more than 8,000 public charging stations, then watch how they get used.
But a funny thing may be happening on the way to the charging station. Oregon consumers, local experts say, haven't been beating the bushes to get their hands on a Nissan Leaf, the only mass-produced, all-electric vehicle currently on the market. Moreover, the vehicles have been slower to arrive than some anticipated.
And those public charging stations -- the plug-in infrastructure that will help wary consumers overcome the dreaded "range anxiety"?
Well, good luck finding one.
Ecotality, the San Francisco company awarded $130 million by the U.S. Department of Energy to build the network of public charging stations, was supposed to have 1,100 installed in Oregon by the end of next month. But as of last week it has yet to install a single public station in Oregon.
Not one.
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/05/oregons_electric_vehicle_goals.html
