More planned for Lone Star College–CyFair as interest grows

The companies ECOtality and eVgo are seeing the fruits of their labor as efforts to install electric car charging stations around Houston have come full circle in the past few months. In Cy-Fair, the first charging station opened last fall, and more are in the works for this year.

"I think people are fascinated when they see our charging stations," said Dave Aasheim, area manager for ECOtality. "It gets them thinking beyond gas-powered vehicles. Everyone has heard about them, but seeing them become mainstream helps them understand these are real vehicles."

Charging stations

Last September, eVgo rolled out plans to open 50 charging stations around Houston this year. One of the first locations to open was in Northwest Houston last fall, outside a Walgreens at Beltway 8 and West Road.

"We wanted to provide a solution to folks driving on 290 and the Beltway," said Arun Banskota, eVgo president. "That Walgreens has very convenient on and off access. The other reason is because for many folks it's on the way to the airport."

Another eVgo station is in the planning phase for the Jersey Village area, near Hwy. 290 and West Road.

"We want to make it as easy as possible for [electric vehicle] owners to travel around," Banskopa said. "We're studying driving patterns, and online we provide folks options on where to put the next stations, so there could be more along 290."

According to Banskopa, there is a lot of room for the electric vehicle market to grow in Texas.

"Our plan is to install 50 of these to the point where no one will be more than 10 miles or so from the next charging station," he said.

One of the key factors that determines the location for a charging station is finding a power source. ECOtality also chooses to tie in its Blink stations with restaurants, stores or malls because they host the equipment and provide electricity. While ECOtality has installed more than 50 stations in Houston so far, the company has plans for about 200 altogether.

"On the 290 corridor we have an electric company there who has come on board, and they believe some of their customers will be early adopters," Aasheim said.

Local efforts

The charging stations will soon be part of the landscape in Cypress, as faculty at Lone Star College–CyFair have plans to install two on campus this year.

"Houston, by the end of the year, will have more charging stations than any other city in the country," said Richard Gilbert, director of advanced technology at LSC–CyFair. "We want to be a part of that to show our campus is proactive in being green and sustainable."

Faculty members also hope an electric vehicle that was donated to the college this spring will reduce gasoline costs.

"We won't have to pay for mileage for the vehicle, so it will save us on our budget," Gilbert said. "If I don't have to spend budget money, that's something else I can use for [academics]."

Members of the Houston Electric Auto Association, a local chapter of a national organization founded in the '60s, also work to promote the understanding of electric-powered transportation, said Steve Kobb, former president.

"This kind of product—on a mass level—is sensitive to gas prices," he said. "As prices go up, you'll find more and more people are interested."

Comfort with experience

Richey Cook purchased a Nissan Leaf last year, and spends $40–$50 a month to charge the vehicle, compared to $300 previously spent on gasoline. Although he can charge the car at home, Cook stops at the Northwest Houston eVgo station a few times a month when he needs more range.

"I used to fill up 10 times a month with gas," Cook said. "You won't see a lot of people around these chargers because we can charge at home. If you were able to gas your car up every time you left your house, you wouldn't stop at a gas station."

eVgo has found the majority of users are doing most of their charging at home, but that the public charging stations are necessary so drivers never have to worry about running out of power.

"We believe these will help people get comfortable with buying electric vehicles," Banskopa said.