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EV Tesla costs $5 to drive over 800 kilometers Blairman
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VANCOUVER, BC.: APRIL 3, 2012 - Sun Country Farms electric car on display during the 2012 Vancouver International Auto Show at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, B.C., April 3, 2012. Kent Rathwell, of Sun Country Farms, drove his electric car from Saskatoon to Vancouver for the auto show, using charging stations along the way.

Photograph by: Arlen Redekop photo/ PNG , [PNG Merlin Archive]


Road-tripping across B.C. in an electric car could happen as early as next year.

On Tuesday, the B.C. government announced $2.74 million for 570 car-charging stations across the province, which would make it easier to drive all the way from Vancouver to cities like Kamloops and Prince George — or even south to the United States, Environment Minister Terry Lake said.

But electric-car drivers will likely have to stop more often to avoid running out of juice along the way.

“If you want to get from here to Kamloops [now] you’re hooped,” Lake said, speaking in Vancouver. “Between here and there, we would need at least two charging stations, but obviously we’d have to have a look at that. We don’t want to have lineups of electric cars waiting at the charging stations.”

The move, part of the government’s Clean Energy Vehicle Program, would be administered by the Fraser Basin Council, which will work with regional districts, municipalities and first nations to figure out where the stations should go.

But Lake expects to see the stations on key routes in the province, perhaps at rest areas and truck stops for easy access and more room to plug in.

The province is also working with BC Hydro to install 30 “Level 3” charging stations — where drivers can fully charge their vehicles in 15 minutes — on major highways like the Coquihalla, the Highway 97 connector to the Okanagan, the Cariboo connector to Prince George and south to the U.S., Lake said.

How often vehicles will need charging depends on the car, the speed and the terrain. In ideal conditions, the cheaper Chevrolet Volt, for instance, can travel 120 kilometres fully charged, compared with the Nissan Leaf, which logs 150 km, while the more costly Tesla Roadster is good to go for 400 km.

But the faster they go, the more energy they use. And travelling over mountains will require more frequent top-ups at charging stations because of the energy needed to traverse the topography.

Kent Rathwell, president of Sun Country Highway, a company that provides electric-vehicle infrastructure, drove his Tesla Roadster from Saskatoon to Vancouver for the International Auto Show.

Rathwell reported he was slowed down near Banff when he encountered heavy snow and treacherous conditions over the Rockies, but sped up after he got over the Coquihalla. He noted, however, that when an electric car goes over 90 km an hour, it isn’t as efficient.

Still, Rathwell said, distance isn’t a problem for the cars as long as there are charging stations available. If there were stations all the way to Fort St. James, he added, an electric-car driver could comfortably make the journey in a day and a half, charging the vehicle during a one-hour break for lunch, a half-hour coffee break, a two-hour dinner break and then overnight at the hotel.

Rathwell said his silver sports car, which takes as little as three hours to charge, made the trip from Saskatchewan to Vancouver in three days and cost him only $5 because he didn’t have to pay at the charging stations he helped to set up along the way.

The same trip would cost anywhere from $500 to $1,000 in a traditional gas-powered vehicle, depending on its size.

“It was an absolutely gorgeous drive, but to know we did it with zero emissions ... and really no hiccups, it was empowering,” Rathwell said. “It basically showed that it’s really possible nowadays, just to prove you can actually [travel long distance] in an electric vehicle.”

Rathwell, who has plans to work with businesses to put charging stations in place across Canada, said his company has yet to charge for using its stations. The aim, he said, is to get the infrastructure in place to encourage more people to buy electric cars, which start at $35,000.

“There’s really probably not another opportunity in most Canadians’ lives to be a part of something like this ... to be part of change,” he said.

The province’s announcement comes on the heels of a $261,000 partnership contribution earlier this year with the City of Vancouver to help install more than 67 electric vehicle charging stations throughout the city.


Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/cars/Charging+stations+allow+electric+cars+distance/6406646/story.html#ixzz1xM23wjbG