Texas Gov. Perry Boosts Electric Cars

ARLINGTON, Texas – In a state where the oil and gas industry is king, the arrival of electric vehicles and building the charging infrastructure have jolted the public's perception about Texas, Gov. Rick Perry said Friday.

"Here in Texas, we don't just talk about it. We're doing something about it," Perry said in Arlington at an energy company's event, later joking that most people probably would not have associated Texas with emission-free vehicles.

But it's "what they should have been thinking," he said.

Texas already has dozens of charging stations in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and some suburbs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels & Advanced Vehicles Data Center. Drivers can plug their cars into docking stations at various places — including Houston City Hall, a hotel near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, a San Antonio Church and even the Dell Computers headquarters near Austin.

All electric cars can be charged at those slower charging stations that add power in about four to eight hours, depending on the size and life left in the battery, industry officials said. But electric cars are still fairly new, and some attribute slow sales to the vehicles' high costs and use limited to short trips.

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On Friday, NRG Energy said its new station at a drug store in Dallas is the state's first fast-charging station, which can be used by some of the vehicles and has a recharger with a 480-volt direct current that can add 30 miles of range to an electric car in as few as 10 minutes. NRG plans to install 70 of the stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and another 50 in the Houston area by the end of next year, a privately funded project with AeroVironment, which designed and produced the charging stations.

"It's not like you're going to Walgreen's and spend eight hours, but when you leave you're more charged," said Kristen Helsel, a vice president at AeroVironment.

NRG's chief executive David Crane said that while Texas is known as the oil and gas capital, "There's nothing that was announced today that's going to change that ... and that's not all that Texas is. Now it's time for electric vehicles."

The Lone Star State is joining the rest of the nation in promoting the adoption of electric vehicles — especially as the national average for regular unleaded gasoline rose to $3.71 a gallon over the past week, according to AAA.

Also in Houston, the city has its own program through a partnership with Reliant Energy. Ten charging stations have been up and running for about a year, and 25 more are being installed, said Laura Spanjian, the city's sustainability director.

Houston also is buying electric cars for the city's fleet and has received federal stimulus money for another 30 charging stations to serve those municipal vehicles, she said. The first, a Nissan Leaf, is expected to arrive in the next week or two.

"We would have the first electric car of any city fleet in Texas," Spanjian said.

Austin was one of nine cities that benefitted from a federal program that enables the city to get up to 200 charging stations, as long as they install 100 by the end of this summer. The city has already put in about a dozen, said Carlos Cordova, spokesman for Austin Energy, the city-owned electric utility.

He said Austin is predicting there will be about 150 electric vehicles on city roads this year and maybe another 150 next year — but up to 36,000 electric vehicles by 2020.

"It will develop slowly," Cordova said, noting that projections are based on research conducted by the Electric Power Research Institute.

Some cities and states offer rebates to encourage buying electric vehicles Those displayed at the Arlington Convention Center on Friday were the Toyota Prius PHV, Chevrolet Volt, VIA Truck, Tesla Roadster, Smart fortwo EV, Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Nissan Leaf.

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0 new comment was just posted. Show jrtexas 11 minutes ago

Great idea. I drive NEV here on the old cavalry fort where I live. However, the nearest real town (Walmart) is 35 miles. We travel 40 plus miles to buy groceries or go to the doctor We go 50 plus miles to the dentist. When someone develops an electric car that will get us there and back at a reasonable (not 40 grand) price then we will consider an electric vehicle.
Unless you live in an urban environment these vehicles are simply not practical. Not to mention insane costs.
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nativeson1 19 minutes ago

Let me see here .more electric cars .they get charge by and with with electricity ...Electricity need nuclear,coal or hydro to make more electricity..I get make more electric cars so we need more electric power to waste more electricity and burn just a little less fossil fuel
Like 1 person liked this. Flag
nomorecommies 26 minutes ago

Funny thing. In 1900, there were more electric cars in NYC than cars with internal combustion engines. Why do we have such trouble making a decent affordable reliable electric car now???? LAZY OVERPAID ZERO WORK ZERO QUALITY UNION THUGS!!!!!!!!!
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j3bhu 23 minutes ago in reply to nomorecommies

What a stupid thing to say. Like the unions are in charge of R and D at all the major car companies in the world.
Grow up and stop throwing out hatred just to make your political point. It makes you look foolish.
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j3bhu 30 minutes ago

If they are so great how come the governor and all of his staff and all other politicians aren't driving them and using the m for government vehicles?
It is always the little guys who need to change our ways and tighten our belts while the governors and senators and celebrities continue to live like kings, mostly on our money.
As soon as all government officials are issued electric cars they can start telling me what to drive.
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166mhz 52 minutes ago

I can hardly wait until someone thinks of a way to get something else out of these charging stations .. it's not me - it's just the way the system is setup .. first there was a garage to fix the car then it sold frito chips and sodas turning it into a quick mart -- then a service station - then a truck stop - then a major truck stop city .. and on and on and on ... you get the idea...
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chaplaincog 1 hour ago

This government should be doing everything possible to push the electric car and get off the Middle East oil. thefatherslovebook.com
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Roy H. Taylor, Sr 2 hours ago

If anyone is clearly concerned about an electric car then why not bring back GMs EV-1. Who Killed the Electric Car? A very good film about the disappearance of an electric car from the roads in California that apparently was working just fine. What about a fuel efficient diesel car? There are plenty in foreign countries that are superior to our models. Some of the VW diesels are reaching 70 mpg figures, why can't we have one of these? By the way these diesels are also environmental friendly when compared to gas or hybrid versions. Read auto magazines that reach a world reading population or look up on the internet, these diesels exist now!
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synical5 5 hours ago

Last I read, the electric cars are mostly kaput after going up a steep hill with a full load of people.
I doubt too many people will take to these "puddle jumpers". Why not a set up like diesel Locomotives?
A constant speed gasoline engine attached electronically to a set of drive motors on the axels,
Actuated by a low battery indication.
Of course you could put a Pick up bed on it and take it to the Golf Course!
Look out Augusta, here I come!
Like 3 people liked this. Flag
ancienttexan 5 hours ago

Living in WesTexas and 60 miles from the next town in any direction, I can't think of any thing more worthless than an expensive electric car. Get real! Gov. Perry knows better than this.
Like 5 people liked this. Flag
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