Electric cars will set off tomorrow (Friday 10-3-2014) from various points along the western slope for a road rally. It is in part a demonstration of recharging the cars. There are now recharge, or plug-in stations along the Roaring Fork Valley and across the west slope. Heather McGregor is one of the organizers. She is with the Garfield County Clean Energy Collaborative.
McGREGOR: “Its actually now possible to drive an all-electric car across the region. Cars will start in Grand Junction and they’ll stop and charge up in Parachute. Cars will also start in Aspen and Snowmass Village and they’ll stop and charge up in Basalt. And, then a third leg of the rally will start over in Vail. All legs will converge in Carbondale where there is also electric vehicle charging.”
REPORTER: “One of the issues for people considering an electric vehicle is ‘Can I charge it up and actually travel?’ And, I guess you are trying to demonstrate that yes, its possible.”McGREGOR: “Right. There are 59 electric vehicle-charging plugs in western Colorado in operation at 24 locations. And, in the next year we expect to see at least another 15 plugs at seven locations. We’re talking about a lot of charging stations in the Aspen to Glenwood Springs corridor and along I-70 from Summit County to Grand Junction.”
The EV Rally, as it is called, is designed to show drivers that electric cars are a viable vehicle option even in rural mountain areas. The plug-in stations are free. McGregor says it actually costs more to install credit card payment machines than to give the electricity away. Ally Harvey is a Carbondale Trustee and Chairman of Garfield Clean Energy. Electric cars he says are part of a larger effort to reduce carbon emissions.
HARVEY: “The electric charging stations that have been going in and then the electric cars are just part of this large package of options that are out there in terms of reducing our impacts on the climate and our ability to wean ourselves from petroleum-based products.”
Heather McGregor says all new electric vehicle owners can pay a fee that is allowing Colorado to increase the number of charging stations.
McGREGOR: “That fee goes into a state fund that is then turned around and used to provide grant funding to pay for the cost of putting in a public access electric vehicle charging station.”
The electric cars will conclude the rally in Carbondale. Also there will be new recharge stations officially opened in Aspen, Snowmass and Basalt. Details of the rally are HERE