EV charging: infrastructure taking root

Navigant Research‘s John Gartner reports on the slow but steady expansion of EV charging infrastructure:

EV charging is now available across the United States at more than 20,000 locations, which are bringing in money every day through pay-for charging events. Not all of the equipment providers will survive – consolidation is natural in any rapidly growing industry – and any companies that fall by the wayside should not be viewed as indicators of the broader failure of the industry. While some of the seeds of the Dept. of Energy-funded EV infrastructure did not take root, the investment has been critical to increasing consumer adoption of EVs.

He adds:

Sales of plug-in vehicles are up 145% this year compared to the first quarter of 2012, with more than a dozen models on the market.

Source:  Slowly, EV Ecosystem Takes Root on plugincars.com

BMW Mini-E’s Feed the Grid

BMW Mini-E electric vehicles are feeding the grid as well as drawing from it at the University of Deleware, reports the New York Times. Is this the beginning of electric vehicles functioning as back up storage and a fuel source for the grid? This “tiny, but promising” vehicle-to-grid project may portend the future of the sustainable transportation…

Parking and Placemaking

Parking structures done well are great public spaces. They celebrate mobility, commerce and design. Rather than imposing themselves upon the urban environment, the most successful garages perform as a canvas for the vitality of urban life. Parking is part of the solution: When we help people move from place to place efficiently and beautifully, we’ve done our job well. Our customers, our businesses and our planet all grow from the experience. It’s a beautiful thing.