BMW of North America and partners to install up to 100 EV charging stations in and around US National Parks
19 April 2017
BMW of North America has partnered with the National Park Foundation, National Park Service and the Department of Energy to install up to 100 electric vehicle charging stations in national parks and nearby communities across the country. The first of these was powered on today during a press conference at Thomas Edison National Historical Park, site of Edison’s West Orange, N.J., laboratory and home.
|
|
| A 2017 BMW i3 electric vehicle and 1914 Detroit Electric Model 47 owned by Thomas Edison and their charging stations inside of Thomas Edison’s Glenmont garage at Thomas Edison National Historic Park in West Orange, NJ. |
With the installation of the first charging stations at Thomas Edison National Historical Park complete, an integrated team from this public-private partnership will continue to identify park locations for additional charging stations. The team will look at factors such as proximity and strength of EV markets, distance from nearby charging locations, and natural and cultural landscape considerations. Dozens of parks have already expressed interest and are exploring site options.
The Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program works with the National Park Service to provide technical assistance to support sustainable transportation projects at national park sites. These projects educate visitors on the benefits of advanced and alternative vehicles and can help the National Park Service meet their energy and environmental goals. The benefits of these projects have the opportunity to reach far beyond the boundaries of the national parks. DOE Clean Cities will work with the national parks and BMW to continue providing technical expertise.
This partnership supports the National Park Foundation’s Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks. BMW will sponsor electric vehicle charging costs for all electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle drivers at Thomas Edison National Historical Park for the next six months.
I test-drove an I3 at the behest of an e-mail through ChargePoint.
My opinion is that the I3's interior, at least, is a joke. It's made with materials like unfinished eucalyptus and burlap which are not made to last. The swag-bag I got for taking the test drive is made of the same burlap and canvas, and is already falling apart.
I'll bet that anyone who bought an I3, rather than taking a 2-year lease, is regretting that pretty badly already.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 20 April 2017 at 08:10 PM
re: …materials like unfinished eucalyptus and burlap which are not made to last.
That's not going to fly during the transition to electric cars. A subtext of this revolution (which I'm sure is troubling to major petrocar firms) is that an eCar could run forever with reasonable maintenance. It doesn't need to have huge expensive mechanical failure points (like an IC engine or transmission, the failure of which often causes gassers to be replaced).
The lightbulb industry has already been through this culture shock. LED bulbs may sell for more than incandescents, but turnover, for many sockets, has dropped to zero.
Posted by: Bob Niland | 22 April 2017 at 12:22 PM