Washington Gets America's First Electric Highway

Andrew Price on July 2, 2010 at 2:00 pm PDT

With the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf on the way, a new crop of electric cars is just about ready for America. But is America ready for them? We'll need places to charge them, right?

Well, residents of the Pacific Northwest will be in good shape. Washington state is planning to line a long stretch of Interstate 5 with seven-to-ten Level-3 fast-charging stations, which can juice up a Leaf in as little as 15 minutes. Early adopters will be able to travel from the Canadian border to the Oregon state line without depleting their batteries. It's being touted as America's first "electric highway."

Washignton's plan is just one part of the $230-million EV Project, which will install 15,000 charge stations in Washington, California, Arizona, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C.

Image: Map of Stage I and II, from WSDOT

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roadrunner0 9 hours ago
100 years ago we had electric cars.. Henry Ford and others stopped making them in favor of gasoline engines because the development costs were lower and the oil company kickbacks were better for the company’s bottom line.. Just imagine where we would be if he had hooked up with Nich Tesla back then.. Point is, sometimes the most profitable path is not the most responsible path..
Using taxpayers money to open markets for corporate America is wrong but we do need to be enticed to move to a new level of technology some times.. As battery technology research evolves these charging stations may prove to be a waste of money but time will tell..

The DiLithium crystals are at maximum Capitan

truebalnz 14 hours ago
First The initial funding is from a Federal grant. Second the private sector will be a major MONEY source for this project, Third the USERs will pay for the power they use, forth Electricity in the Pacific Northwest comes from hydro sources – not fossil fuels and the CARS do NOT come from fossil fuels, fifth- TESLA Motors makes a car with a longer range, enviro-friendly battery and will be introducing a NEW MODEL next fall that gets 300 miles to a charge.

Finally atomic power IS clean, and safe, and plentiful, and reliable. SO are wind and solar power and tidal surge. However these are going to take DECADES to become economically viable and ETHANOL is a joke – I’m sorry but I live in the part of the country that is the major source of supply and I can tell you from experience that one bad season and ethanol is going to be more pricey then gold.

Three years ago a fellow in Florida invented a way to use WATER to fuel his 1980’s FORD TAURUS – YouTube look up or google WATER FUEL for welding – zero by-products, environmentally safe and FREE. What happened to that technology? The big 3 automakers “helped” him you figure the rest.

Washington’s move is good for the environment, good for commuters and travelers, good for local businesses and sound practise.

billyp51skegee 24 hours ago
Lonnie Johnson,inventor/engineer,has a battery he is developing that will carry a car for 1000 miles on one single charge!! HIS BATTERY CAPABILITIES IS FAR MORE SUPERIOR THAN WHAT OTHERS ARE DEVELOPING.PLUS HE HAS INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES ON SOLAR ENERGY THAT CAN CHANGE THAT ENERGY TO ELECTRICITY…GOOGLE THIS BRILLIANT SCIENTIST,AND YOU MIGHT KNOW WHO HE IS…IT WILL GIVE YOU A BLAST!!!!

Mark Chamberlain 1 day ago
This is a good start from my old state. Washington gets it power from Grand Coulee and Bonneville, both hydroelectric. Washington is a good place for this type of technology. I cannot say the same for other states where coal is the primary source of electricity though.

algoar 1 day ago
when you say electric?

you are talking about a battery car?

they are not the same!!

so far there is no company that has produced a CAR that run

on electricity,plenty of buses but no cars.

junk1 1 day ago
A couple of quick addendums:
Seriously purchase/checkout “Physics for Future Presidents” by Richard A. Muller. Hey, he’s a teacher at Berkeley… and I think can shed some much needed light on this an many subjects (especially the actual, minimal, dangers of nuclear technology). Seriously, give it a read. And really read up on Chernobyl. And read how hard the Brits worked to TRY to make a plant fail deep in the bowels of Scotland, I believe… and still couldn’t make it happen. Designed properly… bullet proof. And don’t even get me started on what “half-life” really means. READ THIS BOOK. It could change your life.

As for those claiming that most of the power is from hydro… what happens when this “takes off” and you’ve altered the balance of power delivery? Do you think the grid will use less electricity because you’ve stopped using Gas? So are you prepared to build more dams? Sounds more likely that you’d advocate for solar farms (which also won’t happen – remember the turtles and rats). So you’re back to Coal… or Natural gas (if Alaska can get that pipeline built).

junk1 1 day ago
Are these missionary EV warriors going to be charged to “fill-up” their cars? If so, how much does it cost? And if there is a charge… is it also subsidized by the tax payers?

And if there is no charge (completely paid by the tax payers), then I’m starting my new EV Trucking company right away. As I’d much rather have all of you paying for or at least subsidizing my fuel costs.

And for sure, my fleet of Golf Carts in service at my golf course will be getting charged up each night at these stations (well, why not?). Oh, not for commercial services you say? Well, that’s even more dandy. So as a tax payer and business owner I now have to pay for the unemployed or those on vacation to save the world by tooling around in their shiny new EVs. I think that I could make a pretty good argument that getting to and from your place of work is commercial. Otherwise, why would you be there… just sight-seeing each day before and after work? Regardless… why should I be paying for you to get to your job?

Pretty cool. I’m fired up about this plan (and so are all the coal plants that will supply the juice for this farce). Wind will NEVER be the big answer (and they kill the birds and bats – oh, but wouldn’t that could increase the incidence of Malaria?). And speaking of bats… have you ever spoken to someone who actually lives near a wind farm – they go batty from the noise and shadows those behemoths produce. Solar is almost as flakey as wind (at least it might work during the day – clouds permitting), but you same folks waving your hands for EV’s won’t even let them install solar farms (for the sake of some poor turtle or rat that “could” be affected). And how’s that solar farm outside of Seattle looking (seen the sun lately)? Wake up folks. You’re being fed a fake solution to a fake problem.

If you REALLY want a solution… install nuclear plants (Fission) now and everywhere, AND simultaneously invest heavily in Fusion research. “Nuclear! OMG!!!”… if you actually educate yourself on the issue and quit quaking from your remembrance of the BS 70’s (when you were probably high as a kite) and that wonderful piece of fiction “China Syndrome”… then you might actually come to understand how incredibly safe nuclear power is and has been. And of course in from the unintended consequences department… if the Enviro do-gooders would have stayed out of it (No Nukes!)… then it would be even safer. Why? Because we would actually be reprocessing the spent rods and reusing them instead of planting them in ground. But that’s another story.

Arguably, with adequate Fusion research we could see, within 20-30 years, fusion based reactors powering the entire country with a few gallons of seawater with NO waste to sequester. THEN you can drive the little wheels off your EVs without actually making things worse in the process.

But what do I know? Good luck (don’t expect me to pay for your “experiment”).

LaceyVanderVeen 1 day ago
Living in Washington I thought most of our electricity comes from our many dams. A simple google search confirmed this, so these cars will mostly be recharged with hydro power not coal. It also looks like the EV Project is sponsored by many organizations, so the funding is not just coming from Washington State. It will be interesting to see this plan put into action and if it affects our I-5 drive at all.

LouAlcantar 1 day ago
The lithium batteries that EV use do not have acid in them. They are not toxic. Look it up. They are considered hazardous only because they hold a charge for so long. Properly discharged they could be put in a landfill. Due to their recycle value not likely As for electricity been produced by fossil fuel, true but only partly. Even today renewable are helping to power the grid and more is planed for the near future. Not to mention for every 150 cars or so that use electricity is on less tanker truck on the road and that benefits everyone.

trent0008 1 day ago
I would actually have to say that ethanol would have to be the best choice. electric cars come from fossil fuels, and although they are still better because they use less, it still isn’t the solution. And i am 100 % against any form of nuclear power because of the harsh implications for our planet. maybe it dosn’t generate co2 but what do u do with all the waste and byproduct of nuclear reactors? and don’t forget Chernobyl, the city where the nuclear power plant had a melt down. please spare us from nuclear power it is NOT the solution. Ethanol IS. We should follow the example of Brazil. our government should expand it’s budget and invest in ethanol. Here’s a video explaining everything. it is the solution:GO TO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5dSrWrLQeM

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Two Thumbs 5 days ago
Andrew,

Sounds good. But as the saying goes; "No good deed goes unpunished."

Batteries are full of acid and generally require special care when being tossed out b/c of the harmful fumes that come from them.

Wind and solar are decades away from being useful. Spain has started to abandon their solar plans b/c it costs too much for to little.

Nuclear is the best option for quickly replacing coal and oil. It can fill the gap that wind and solar will need to become functional on a large scale.

Andrew Price 5 days ago

Hey, two thumbs, you're right that the electricity comes from coal right now, but electric cars will get progressively cleaner as we start producing more electricity from wind or solar. Gas-powered cars are dirty no matter what.

Two Thumbs 5 days ago
@Facbook user,

Sorry but you're kidding yourself or you don't know.

Those charging stations are operated by fossil fuel. Most electricity is.

My only actual issue is the state doing what private companies should be doing, or encouraged to do.

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Facebook User 5 days ago

@Two Thumbs: even those who don't purchase an electric car will see the benefits of less pollution and less demand for oil.

Two Thumbs 5 days ago
The 'state' is doing this? This doesn't seem right. They are making people that don't want or can't afford new cars to pay to have this built then pay so that other people can use.

A private company should be doing this, not any government.