It turns out that Pennsylvania has a big potential market for electric cars, and a San Diego firm plans to build stations where drivers can plug them in.
350Green, which designs and runs networks of electric vehicle charging stations, is preparing to build a total of 66 of these stations in Pennsylvania. At least in the beginning they will be in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and surrounding areas. Co-founder and CEO Mariana Gerzanych says exact locations haven’t been decided yet, but the charging stations will be at grocery stores and shopping centers, where people park their vehicles long enough to charge the batteries.
The company estimates that about 33,000 electric vehicles will be on Pennsylvania roads by 2015. Those numbers are based on U.S. Census data, studies by automobile companies and academic research. Right now 350Green plans to start building Pennsylvania’s charging stations in the second half of this year. Gerzanych says a more specific date hasn’t been set because 350Green wants the stations to come online around the time that electric cars show up, and the vehicles tend to become available once charging-station plans are announced.
350Green currently has projects underway in Chicago and the San Francisco area. Its work in PA is its first venture on the East Coast, and Gerzanych says the state could be great for establishing a presence throughout the mid-Atlantic. “At some point, I envision being able to connect to New York and Maryland,” she says.
350Green’s proposal also calls for a Philadelphia-area office that would employ six people to manage the network.
Source: Mariana Gerzanych, 350Green
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen