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westernli commented on With state-funded charging stations, Cuomo gives electric cars a modest push toward critical mass

Why are we even discussing plug-in charge stations in NY? Are people really going to stop on the side of the road for 6-10 hours to re-charge their battery if they drive over 100 miles in a given day? Are we really going to install a charging station at every parking space in America, including along city streets and at every space in mall parking lots that are sized for peak holiday demand? Yes, there are rapid charge technologies out there to reduce re-charge times, but each rapid charge seriously impacts a battery's life span (vs. a conventional "slow" charge) and should only be used in rare circumstances. Unlike Cuomo, someone has thought this through. Several entrepreneurs, for example Better Place, have developed robotic car battery swap stations that look like gas station car washes. You drive in, a robot takes out your depleted battery, it then installs a fully-charged battery, and off you drive in about the same time it would take to fill up the tank with gas. They keep multiple batteries charged and in stock, so it doesn't matter what kind of car you drive or what battery you need--they have it. They can even sell electricity to the grid during times when there's little demand for fully-charged batteries, and then charge them up again when they know people will need to swap out their batteries. It's a great model, and one we should be subsidizing, not this half-baked roadside charging station concept.

Posted on June 14th, 2012 11:19am