Tag: electric vehicle

Categories : Disruptive Transportation Fresno RetailTags : 11 Comments

Fresno’s First Tesla Supercharger About to Open

On By jamesinclair

In November I reported that Fresno was finally getting a Tesla Supercharger – high speed electric chargers that can “refuel” a Tesla in 30 minutes. Although originally scheduled for 2015, Tesla missed that goal, although it looks like they’re about ready to open up.

Let’s take a look:

The Supercharger is being installed at Herndon and CA-99, in a new shopping center anchored by Target.

Conveniently placed by plenty of electricity, see the green fence in the background?

Peeking over the fence, here’s what it looks like now, with 10 charging stalls (one didn’t fit in the shot):

Still some minor work left.

Up close:

Stepping back, you can see the site is currently fenced off. However, note that little shed? (Not the ATM) Click to read more!

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Fresno is finally getting a Tesla Supercharger

On By jamesinclair

Over the past few years, I’ve posted about how Fresno is severely lacking in electric vehicle charging infrastructure. It’s especially disturbing because the state has put so many incentives in place, and yet, instead of deploying the chargers where the worst air quality is, they’re all installed in the Bay Area or LA. Three years ago, there were a grand total of zero public chargers in the area. Fortunately, that has improved. Now, Fresno State offers public chargers, and there are a few others scattered across town.

However. one of the biggest backers of electric vehicle chargers has been Tesla, and they’ve been MIA. They have been deploying a network of proprietary “superchargers” nationwide to help sell their cars: Click to read more!

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Two new public electric vehicle charging stations open in Fresno

On By jamesinclair

Two months ago, I decided to look back at the state of public electric charging infrastructure for electric cars in Fresno. Sadly, the situation was still very dire.

Fortunately, there has been some news on that front. Chargers have arrived at Fresno State and Downtown:

Fresno State is planning to give electric car drivers more
options to “charge up” under plans announced Friday to build a six-stall
charging station on campus.

University officials say the station
located west of Save Mart Center will have two quick-charge pumps — a
car’s battery could recharge in 20 to 30 minutes — plus four more for
longer charges. It’s being paid for through a $397,000 grant from the
California Energy Commission. Click to read more!

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Are public electric car chargers finally coming to Fresno?

On By jamesinclair

It’s amazing to think that almost three years ago, I wrote about Fresno finally getting its first public electric car charging station. As the region with the worst air quality in the country, the lack of support for electric vehicles was alarming.

And here we are in 2015, and the situation is almost the same as it was in 2012!

In that post, I wrote about how the first public car charging installation was coming to Blackbeard’s. Well three years later, it hasn’t actually happened. Here’s what progress looked like last month:

photo IMG_1183_8202_zpsefhbxtfd.jpg

The solar panels were never installed, nor was the charging station. Click to read more!

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EV buses, not cars, will be the real urban revolution

On By jamesinclair

For the past two, maybe three decades, the arrival and widespread adoption of the electric vehicle (EV) has been seen as some kind holy grail for transportation, cities, and well, the world. The benefits are obvious; the replacement of gasoline with electricity would mean a massive decrease in pollution, from global-warming causing carbon dioxide to those pesky particulates which make their way into lungs.

Sadly, the development and adoption has been excruciatingly slow. The EV-lite, also known as the hybrid, hit the roads well over a decade ago (the Prius is turning 15!). The two major mainstream EV’s, the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt, have been rolling around for over two years with anemic sales. And that’s without even mentioning the false starts, like the electric Toyota of a decade ago. Even though the technology exists, is somewhat affordable, and is no longer new, the sales aren’t there. Today, in the US, hybrids and EVs combined together make up a tiny 3% of monthly sales. The most optimistic projections? 8% of new cars sold by 2020 (LAtimes) Click to read more!

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UPS to deploy EV trucks in Fresno market

On By jamesinclair

I’ve talked a few times in the past about how even though Fresno and the Central Valley are home to the nations worst air, we have almost no electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure.

During the summer, the air board asks people not to drive, because the air quality approaches very unhealthy levels, but at the same time has to issue warnings for people not to bike because that would involve breathing the bad air. So naturally, people drive just as much, if not more, than they would on any other day. And without a push for electric vehicles, the number of non-polluting cars on the road is minimal. Click to read more!

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Fresno’s first public EV charging station still not built

On By jamesinclair

I was pleased to read six months ago that Blackbeard’s would be installing the first real public electric vehicle (EV) charging station in Fresno, along with a solar panel canopy in their parking lot. Currently, there are less than five EV chargers in the Fresno area – two at Nissan dealerships, and a couple of employee-only spots at Pelco and the Clean Air offices. The Blackbeard’s one would be open to anyone, not just employees (it is unclear if the chargers would be free or not).

Sadly, it looks like the installation was abandoned. The parking lot looks exactly as it did in August, with trees ripped out, some concrete supports and nothing else. Sort of sad that a clean air project has resulted in less trees, and nothing else. Click to read more!

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Why aren’t electric vehicles being pushed where they’d benefit most?

On By jamesinclair

According to the World Health Organization, Fresno has the 2nd worst air quality in the country. Bakersfield, our valley neighbor, is first. This is not a surprise to anyone who lives in the valley or reads the local newspapers.

But what is a surprise is how little people seem to care, especially at the local government level. The feds have established a $29 million annual penalty that the valley must pay (guaranteed for 2012 and 2013, will extend as needed) because the air quality doesn’t meet standards. The money will stay in the valley to help subsidize purchases of clean school buses, clean lawn mowers etc etc. Click to read more!