Vancouver unveils public electric vehicle charging station

Posted on June 21, 2011.

This article was first published in Metro Vancouver on June 21, 2011.

Mayor Gregor Robertson plugs an electric car into one of the new chargers in a parking lot near City Hall Monday.

Mayor Gregor Robertson appeared at the parking lot behind City Hall Tuesday to show off two electric car charging stations, the first in a pilot program designed to ready the city for widespread adoption of the green vehicles.

“We have a big focus in the city on walking, on biking, on taking transit, but we recognize that cars are going to be around for a long, long time,” said the mayor, who also noted that the city intends to have electric cars account for 15 per cent of new vehicle sales by 2020.

PowerSmart executive director Lisa Coltart added that the project will help B.C. Hydro understand what sort of demand electric cars will eventually place on the province’s electrical grid, and that it offers “a glimpse of where both the provincial government and the city would like to go in the future.”

Several car manufacturers are planning to release mass-market electric vehicles in the coming months, and the city expects high rates of adoption in the Vancouver area. B.C. already buys hybrid cars at a rate double that of the rest of Canada.

The pilot project will see the installation of as many as 15 charging stations at EasyPark lots throughout the city. Mayor Robertson said that the project’s total cost will be $140,000, which will be shared between the city and its partners.