In the coming year, Boulder will begin to develop the infrastructure to support a future fleet of electric vehicles by installing dozens of public charging stations at key places around the city.
It’s a bold move, considering there are few all-electric or plug-in hybrid cars on the road.
But Joe Castro, Boulder’s facility and fleet manager, said the city is looking to the future and plans to install two charging stations at the South Boulder Recreation Center by August.
“We’re going to start this summer,” he said.
By June 2012, Castro said, he expects to have 40 charging stations installed throughout Boulder. Planned locations include the Boulder Public Library, the Pearl Street Mall, the Boulder County Courthouse, the Boulder Municipal Building and city-owned parking garages downtown.
Half of the stations will service city-owned vehicles, while the other half will be available to the public to charge their vehicles — for a fee.
“The city is not looking to offer it for free,” Castro said of the service. “We’re looking at a third party to operate and maintain the system.”
Castro said stations would probably require users to pay for an electronic key that would turn on the plug at a parking spot.
Because of state law, the city cannot resell electricity directly to drivers. So a private company would likely have to charge a “membership” fee for drivers to stop and top off batteries.
Developing the charging stations is part of “Project Get Ready,” a collaborative effort between Boulder, Denver, the Rocky Mountain Institute, the University of Colorado and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
The coalition is working to accelerate the integration of plug-in vehicles and develop regional charging stations. According to the group’s website, , the coalition has identified about 100 locations as “high-priority” sites for vehicle charging stations across the state.
Boulder has $500,000 to devote to that effort, thanks to a federal grant secured with the help of U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, a Boulder Democrat.
