NRG eVgo Freedom Stations in the SJV

Electric Vehicles (EVs) and EV charging sites are gaining some real traction and prominence in the San Joaquin Valley. Hooray! This means, now that charging infrastructure development has taken off, it is making more and more sense to own an EV in this part of California.

Photo Source: www.insideevs.com

We owe a big thanks to NRG eVgo for three of the SJV’s stations and this number will grow exponentially this year. These stations are at the Fresh and Easy in Hayward, the Applegate Plaza in Atwater and Fashion Fair Mall in Fresno. The Fashion Fair station is the newest and there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the coming weeks.

NRG eVgo is dedicated to minimizing any possible downsides to driving and owning an electric car; the company has set out to make the experience as simple as driving a gas-powered vehicle. Range is one of the things electric car owners and prospective owners worry about most and NRG eVgo wants to eliminate any range anxiety with its ever-growing network of “Freedom Stations”.

NRG eVgo has begun development of its charging station network in the states of California and Texas as well as the Cities of Atlanta, Nashville, Chicago, and Washington D.C. For Earth Day, NRG eVgo helped host an EV caravan in Atlanta to promote the Freedom Stations around the city. Included in this event were demonstrations on how to charge a variety of electric vehicles.

Photo Source: www.businesswire.com

If you’d like to charge at home, NRG eVgo has a home car charging dock as well. You can get information on the best charger for your home and vehicle or even suggest a multi-family home or workplace that should be approached and considered for an EV Charging Station install.

The NRG eVgo network of Freedom Stations is quickly growing! This infrastructure development and the incentives offered from the federal government, the CA Air Pollution Control District, etc. should be reason enough to consider purchasing an EV!

NRG eVgo isn't the only company expanding the SJV's EV Charging Station Network. Residences and businesses all over the Valley are seeing the importance and advantage of installing EV chargers. If you own an EV or are considering purchasing one, but are deterred by potential range anxiety, look at the Plug Share app. The map features residential chargers, high powered chargers (i.e. Tesla Superchargers), and public business or municipal stations. The app will even warn you when a particular charger is in use. Range Anxiety no more!

On the third day of Christmas a Model S for Dee

It was only a few months ago that I happened across a Tesla showroom, and I do use the term showroom loosely. There was one (very very nice) car in the showroom with about 40 customers drooling over it (including me). I stated that the Tesla would be my next car, I was so impressed. Then I found out that in order to take the car for a “test drive”, I needed to leave a (fully refundable) $5,000 deposit to go towards an order for my very own Tesla, which incidentally takes 11 months to get one made for you. I started to wonder…Would I really want to spend $100K plus on a new car. Heck, I could almost buy a house for that price!

I found out this morning that the Tesla won the automotive industry’s equivalent to the Grammy for Best Motion Picture. Judges have unanimously voted the Tesla Model S the 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year. The U.S.-manufactured electric vehicle (EV) becomes the first vehicle to win the award not powered by an internal combustion engine in the 64-year history of the publication.

In 2010, the Department of Energy backed Tesla Motors, Inc., with a $465 million loan for the construction of two manufacturing facilities, one in southern California for the Model S electricsedan and one in Palo Alto, California, for electric powertrains. The Palo Alto facility is for assembling electric vehicle battery packs, electric motors, and related electric vehicle control equipment, both for Tesla's own electric vehicles and for sale to other automobile manufacturers. The Tesla offers three lithium-ion battery packs for the Model S that are designed to provide ranges of 140, 200, and 265 miles per a single charge. The 2012 model has an EPA combined city and highway rating of 89 miles-per-gallon equivalent.

Santa, I would like a new RED one just like the one in the picture for Christmas. You don’t have to bring in down the chimney, parking it in the driveway with a big gold bow would work just fine.  Thank You!

--Dee Cox

Photo credit: Tesla, Motor Trend