ity of Chicago and 350Green Announce City-Wide Network of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Network Will Make EV Ownership Possible for Chicago-Area Residents Who Don’t Have Home Garage Charging, and More Convenient for Those Who Do
CHICAGO, IL–(Marketwire – February 18, 2011) – Today at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and officials from the City of Chicago announced the selection of 350Green, a developer of electric vehicle (EV) charging networks, to design, build and operate a network of 280 EV charging stations throughout the Chicago area. The project is among the first and largest of its kind in the United States, and will help the City address two of the most vexing challenges facing widespread adoption of EVs: range anxiety and access to a garage for overnight charging. 350Green plans to install and operate its stations in partnership with retail hosts across high-traffic urban shopping centers and other places near where Chicago-area EV drivers live and work.
“This project will encourage greater use of green transportation alternatives by making electric vehicle use more convenient and accessible in one of the most heavily traveled cities in the country,” said Governor Quinn. “Through strategic investments like this, we are encouraging long-term economic growth, supporting innovation and creating the jobs of today and tomorrow.”
City of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said, “Chicago is on the cutting edge of national efforts to prepare for electric vehicles. When this project is completed, Chicago will have the most DC quick-charging stations of any city in the country, with only the entire State of California surpassing our station numbers.” The City of Chicago and its Department of the Environment are helping facilitate the implementation of the project.
Much of the early focus around EV infrastructure has been on putting charging stations in the home garages of customers, which benefits only those who have a garage. Since many residents in Chicago do not have access to a garage, this effectively limits the number of people who can participate in the EV revolution.
“Our public charging stations with fast chargers will be widely and conveniently located near where residents live and work around Chicago,” said Mariana Gerzanych, 350Green’s founder and CEO. “Now, EV ownership becomes a possibility for anyone in Chicago, regardless of whether or not they have access to charging in a personal garage.”
The development of the EV industry in Chicago will have benefits for both the environment and the economy. For example, a 10 percent conversion of petroleum-based vehicles to electric vehicles in the Chicago metro area could result in a reduction of 1.8 million tons of CO2 annually. Similarly, the reduction of gasoline use will lead to an estimated $525 million positive economic impact on the region every year.
The company also expects that construction, operation and management of the 73 DC Fast and 207 Level 2 charging stations, plus the opening of a nationwide customer support center, will create approximately 50 jobs in the greater Chicago area. The project is valued at $8.8 million, with public funding of up to $1.9 million. 350Green will fund the remaining $6.9 million.
About 350Green
350Green is a project developer that designs, builds and operates scalable networks of plug-in electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the US. The company distributes its stations by partnering with retail hosts at select, high-traffic shopping centers and other places near where EV drivers live and work, to create the most expansive and convenient network of EV charging locations. More information on 350Green and its projects can be found at its website: www.350green.com.
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About Christopher DeMorro
This actually doesn’t bother me, since it will give people yet another reason to move into Chicago, and bring revenue and tax dollars with them. It seems like a smart move, a way to grab headlines, and a way to compete with Portland for “coolest city” points.
I am disturbed by several of your comments. The Fox Valley Electric Auto Association has about 140 members, and they are in the western suburbs of Chicago. Several members drive EV’s in the City regularly. Your quote, “except Chicago doesn’t have any electric vehicles.” isn’t factual. In fact there are several hundred licensed electric vehicles in the State of Illinois, and many of the pickup trucks are not licensed as EV’s, since only cars could be licensed as EV’s until 2010.
We do know that over a dozen plug in vehicles are scheduled for the Chicago market in the next 12 months, so they are coming, I think it is exceptionally prudent to plan infrastructure for what we know is coming.
Your comment, “I’ve got to wonder about paying to install almost 300 charging stations” also misses the mark. Please review the 350Green announcement about who is funding these stations.
I’m disappointed in your incomplete facts, and urge you to contact the Fox Valley Electric Auto Association, or the Chicago Electric Vehicle Consortium (through the City of Chicago, Department of the Environment) for much more information.
@ Rich C.
I agree that planning infrastructure ahead of electric vehicles in important. However, as you noted, there are already “several hundred” electric vehicles registered in the great state of Illinois, and so far those people have gotten by without any sort of EV infrastructure, true? At $65,000 a pop, these stations are not cheap, and by the time electric vehicles actually start hitting the roads of Chicago en masse, these charging stations could very well be obsolete.
However, you do make a very valid point that I messed up an important fact; Chicago is pitching in $1.9 million provided by the federal government, while 350Green is pitching in $6.9 million to deploy charging stations for a market that has yet to develop. That’s a lot of money, and my point is that, if 350Green plans to actually profit from these charging stations, there will have to be a lot more EV’s on the road then there is now. 280 charging stations STILL sounds like overkill to me.
Christopher,
Thanks much for your thoughtful reply. I guess my strong belief is that one of the things holding back early proliferation of EV’s is the lack of charging stations. This is of significance for people who have range anxiety and wonder if they can complete a trip to the other side of the city, or to a distant suburb. It is even more significant to those who would like to own or lease and EV, but have no garage, and perhaps not even a regular parking area. We can still make EV’s accessible to those people with public charging.
In the first stage of it’s buildout, Chicago has contracted with 350Green for 73 Quick Charge CDirect DC charging stations and 207 Level II charging statiosn. I believe that every electric car to be sold new in 2011 (except the Tesla Roadster) will have the Level II charging plug, also known as J1772. Since the J1772 is a standard from the Society of Automotive Engineers, I believe we will have the J1772 plug and inlet as a standard forr 240V 30-70A charging for many years.
The DC Quick charge is not quite as settled, but I think the JARI plug and CHADEMO protocol will become the standard. The Leaf and several other cars coming to market use the JARI plug and CHADEMO protocol, so it is becomming a de-facto standard. Chicago had the option as to which plug and protocol we could use, and we could have opted for the european plug, but no cars are planned to be sold with it. We opted for the JARI plug, knowing there were cars coming that could use it. These DC quick charging stations are a 15-30 minute charge, and will find use in tollway plazas, etc. The DC Quick charge stations cost between $40,000 and %65,000 (depending on what options, what communication, etc.) The J1772 Level II stations cost between $1000 and $6000 depending on options, billing arrangements, reporting facilities, etc.
The first stage of the rollout isn’t the biggest part, though. Let’s use round numbers.
$1 M from the Green Cities Grant (City of Chicago)
$1 M from DOC, State of Illinosi
$6.9 M from private sources, through 350Green is the pieces of the first phase in the rollout. The original green cities grant to Chicago was for $15 M, so there is still a substantial way to go in build out.
I do think it was very impressive that Chicago got 73 DC quick charge stations and 200+ Level II charging stations for it’s $1 M. 350Green made a very interesting partner by bringing much additional funding to the table. It made the Green Cities grant money go much farther.
350Green, and their investors, are obviously hoping for a profit. I don’t believe profit is a dirty word, and it is in line current municipal philosophies, such as oursourcing parking meters, etc.
By the way, there are lots of EV’s coming. By this time, next year we will see:
Tesla Roadsters
Tesla Model S Sedan
Nissan Leaf
Ford Focus Electric
Ford Transit Connect Electric
Coda Sedan
Mitsubishi i-MiEV
Smart Electric
Wheego Whip
Th!nk City Electric
Smart for Two EV
Two different Honda models
and closely behind them
Toyota RAV4 EV
Toyota iQ
Volkswagen E-Up
Volkswagen Golf Blue e-motion
and likely more.
To complete the circuit with a bad pun, “We’re in electrifying times.”
The way I see it, this is along the lines of what a Quartermaster does in the military – get the supplies up ahead of the army BEFORE they arrive.
As Rich C said, there are EVs in Chicago now and more are on the way. Since not every EV owner will be a home owner, it makes sense to have those chargers in place, ready to go, when the cars do show up.
I’m not sure, though, about your statement the Japanese charging standard. From what I’ve seen, all EVs released in the US will be using the J1772 standard, as well as the chargers.
@ douglas prince
Again I do get what you guys are saying…I just think its a bit much, especially if this is to be a profitable business at some point.
As far as the Japanese charging standard, I got this information from the Chicago Tribune story about how the Ford Focus Electric won’t be able to fast charge at these stations…even though its among the initial launch cities due to this differing standard.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0216-charging-stations-20110216,0,4310432.story
Not all battery chemistries can use the ultra fast, direct DC charging. It does create more heat, more physical distortiion in many lithium substrates. The Ford Focus has chosen not to include a Direct DC charging port. I did ask Mary Cullen, Governmental Relations, Ford, why not, and she indicated that there would not be very many direct DC fast charge places when the Ford Focus Electric rolls out. They did have a pre-production Focus electric in Chicago for the Auto Show, and it was very, very nicely done.
I don’t think the lack of a direct DC quick charge port will significantly impair the sales of cars like the Focus Electric. With 73 planned, Chicago has more direct DC Quick charge than any other city.
I am on the Chicago Electric Vehicle Consortium, and think that this is a way of Chicago reaching out to prospective businesses and citizens, saying we’ll have the technology ready for your future.
I think you’re really overreacting here. EVs obviously have a future in America, but one of the biggest reasons that they have had such a slow start is because there is a lack of infrastructure. I know many people who would love to have an EV, but have the legitimate fear of getting stuck somewhere without a charge. Before people can safely and smartly purchase an EV, there needs to be infrastructure to support their purchase. Just as it would be silly for one to buy a cell phone in in an area that has no cell service, it’s silly for someone to buy an EV in an area that has no form of charging infrastructure. Therefore, I would have to agree with Rich and Douglas and state that your thinking is a little backwards. We know that EVs have a significant future in America and cities like Chicago need to be prepared.