Sometime this summer Lincoln will have enough charging stations in the downtown area to juice up about half of the all-electric cars in Lancaster County.
The introduction of 10 dual-port stations is part of a grant program to encourage more people to buy cars that use alternative fuels, supporters say.
With the new charging stations, Lincoln will have 24 charging plug-ins available in public places in the downtown area.
Last July the county had 50 electric–only cars, based on state Department of Motor Vehicles data. There were an additional 3,652 bi-fuel vehicles that could also use the charging stations.
The new charging stations are intended to encourage people to buy electric cars and are part of ongoing research into the environmental and cost benefits of alternative fuel vehicles, according to Anne McCollister, executive director of the Nebraska Community Energy Alliance.
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“What we find is that once the public sees that charging is available, obvious and promoted, more people will buy the vehicles,†said McCollister, whose organization is heading up the grant program helping to fund the charging stations.
State data shows that there are 16,531 bi-fuel vehicles in the state, and 330 all-electric vehicles.
Lincoln is part of an alliance of Nebraska communities that supports building and promoting advanced technologies in transportation and housing, McCollister said.
The Lincoln grant is part of a $490,030 grant from the state Environmental Trust for a statewide initiative to demonstrate that advanced technology vehicles reduce carbon-dioxide emissions and cost less to own and operate than comparable gas-powered vehicles.
Lincoln will use money from the Environmental Trust grant to pay half the estimated $100,000 to buy and install the 10 charging stations in downtown parking lots, according to Wayne Mixdorf, city parking manager.
Lincoln already has two charging stations in the West Haymarket Green 2 parking garage, with ports for four cars. One is reserved for an electric vehicle owned by the District Energy Corp., which provides electric power to businesses in the West Haymarket.
A dual-port charging unit will go into each of the nine city-owned garages downtown and the 10th will likely be installed in a parking area adjacent to the city-county building, said Mixdorf.
He hopes to have the charging stations installed by mid-summer.
Different vehicles have different driving distances before needing to charge. A Nissan Leaf gets 90 to 100 miles on a full charge; a hybrid, like a Volt, has a 40-mile range, Mixdorf said.
Any vehicle with a plug-in for an electric vehicle can use the 227-volt charging stations, but all-electric vehicles would be most likely to use them, Mixdorf said.
The stations will give a full charge in four hours, he said. Vehicle owners will be charged for the cost of the electricity.
Electric vehicles are going to become a larger part of the vehicle market. “We are just preparing for the future, basically,†he said
The Midwest is a difficult market since its longer driving distances don't lend themselves to electric vehicles, he said.
But getting more charging stations installed would give people more options, including driving back and forth between Lincoln and Omaha, he said.
The grant not only promotes the use of alternative fuels, but also allows for Nebraska-based research on advanced technology, which is technology that saves energy, reduces CO2 emissions and cuts cost to citizens and government, McCollister said.
And the cost savings has been significant for the municipal fleet vehicles purchased through an earlier 2014 grant, she said.
Electric vehicles reduced by half the CO2 emissions of comparable gasoline-powered vehicles, based on research.
And each community with an electric vehicle saved about $900 a year per vehicle in fuel and maintenance costs.
Lincoln joined the alliance about two years ago because city officials wanted to be part of the modernization of the transportation network, said McCollister.
This is one of the ways the city markets itself as a sustainable community. Items like bike trails and charging stations are an obvious sign to young people, who are interested in sustainable transportation, that Lincoln truly is a green city, she said.Ìý
"It is a wonderful place to go to school and stay to work."
Current Nebraska Community Energy Alliance partners participating in the grant are South Sioux City, Dakota County, Allen Consolidated Schools, Wayne, Valley, Gretna, Ashland, Omaha Public Power District, Nebraska City, Lincoln, Hastings, Kearney, the Electric Transport Partners, a private company, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.