Berkeley to Quadruple City's Electric-Vehicle Charging Stations

Berkeley has received funding for six new electric vehicle charging stations that will join two that were installed last month, the mayor's office announced Wednesday.

Each of the six new stations will have two charging points. Three of them will be installed in a parking garage at Telegraph Avenue and Channing Way, two will be in the Oxford Garage at 2165 Kittredge St. and one will be at the Berkeley Marina, according to Mayor Tom Bates' office.
 
They will join the city's first two, which were installed at the Whole Foods at 3000 Telegraph Ave. last month, Bates' office said. The 240-volt charging stations are capable of giving an electric vehicle -- such as a Nissan Leaf or a Chevy Volt -- a range of 10-15 miles on an hour's charge, according to the mayor's office. Bates' office said that there are more than 21,000 electric vehicles on the road in the Bay Area and plug-in vehicles accounted for 4 percent of car sales in California last year.

The charging stations will take credit cards and are paid for by a $474,052 grant from the California Energy Commission to the California EV Alliance.
 
"EVs are a big win for people to save money, improve air quality and cut the pollution that's causing global warming," Bates said. "And when people experience electric they discover that these cars are the better ride!"

—By Bay City News