Posted by Jim, a resident of the Woodside: Woodside Glens neighborhood, on Oct 26, 2011 at 12:30 pm

"is recommending that the town collect $2 an hour for using one of the four electric-vehicle charging stations to be installed at Town Center at 765 Portola Road within the next 60 days and at no cost to the town."

The town gets it at no cost and charges it citizens for the service. How about a free trial run to see if it gets used before committing to the subscription contract?

Is this a green charging station powered by alternative energy or is it a dirty power station simply transferring power from fossil fuels?

How about purchasing enough solar panels to create a clean charging station that the town owns outright?

Posted by ook, a resident of the Menlo Park: other neighborhood, on Oct 26, 2011 at 1:03 pm

I like Jim's comments and questions and think his suggestion for the solar panels is the best option.

Regardless, electric cars create about 20% less pollution even when the source of power is a coal fired plant. Think about the steps required to make and distribute gasoline and this makes sense.

We are fortunate in that our current electric production is primarily based on less directly polluting fuel sources --natgas, hydro and nuke. The task for California is to find our way to the cleanest and most efficient power sources.

Posted by Dave Boyce, Almanac staff writer, on Oct 26, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Dave Boyce is a member (registered user) of Almanac Online

As the story says, the town's environmental coordinator is recommending a charge of $2 an hour. The council and/or staff has not yet decided on whether to charge customers or how much to charge them.

As to whether the power comes from the solar panels at Town Center, my understanding is that those panels provide about 3/4 of the electricity needed for the town center, with the rest coming from the grid.

The question of where the energy comes from for the charging stations is thus academic since 25% of it will not be locally derived -- unless for some reason, the town decides to spend the money and time to directly connect the charging stations to the solar panels.