E-V Ready
Delegate Kenneth R. "Ken" Plum
 
This summer Governor Bob McDonnell announced a "collaborative effort to prepare the Commonwealth for electric cars."  The initiative is funded through the federal Clean Cities program.  More information is available at www.hrccc.org/get-ready/.
 
Reading the press release about the initiative made me remember a similar program in Northern Virginia and Richmond in 1997 to get the areas ready for electric vehicles.  I chaired the Northern Virginia EV Market Launch Committee and had subcommittees on building and codes, infrastructure, policy, and public awareness.  I still have a copy of the inch-thick, spiral-bound report we produced on what needed to be done to get Northern Virginia ready for electric vehicles.  At the time there were a couple of golf cart-like electric vehicles available, and General Motors was introducing its EV-1.  I drove a prototype EV-1 for a day and found it to be a nicely powered and easily handled vehicle.  Its only shortcoming was its range of about 50 miles on battery power.  General Motors stopped making the vehicle after about a year.
 
In recent time movement toward electric vehicles has become more intense.  Hybrid vehicles like the Toyota Prius I drive and the other models that use electricity at least part of the time point to the viability of the option.  General Motors is back in the game with their Chevy Volt which will go about 40 miles on an overnight charge before the on-board generators start powering the car from an internal combustion engine that runs the generator.  It is expected to get 230 miles per gallon!  Once again I drove a prototype of the car and found it to be an excellent vehicle with good pick-up and handling.  Other electric vehicles becoming available include the Nissan Leaf and the Ford Electric Focus.
 
The Washington, DC metropolitan area has proven to be a hot market for alternative fuel vehicles.  Part of the appeal at least in Northern Virginia is access to HOV lanes by hybrid vehicles.  I helped get this incentive enacted into Virginia law many years ago and to get it extended in recent years.
 
The price tag for electric vehicles may be a deterrent for the first few years.  Chevy Volt's announced price exceeding $40,000 took me out of the market.  Tesla with an electric car costing more than $100,000 will be marketing in the DC area.  But prices will come down.
 
There is no use reinventing the wheel or planning anew for the introduction of electric vehicles.  The E-V Ready:  The Path to an E-V Ready Community report produced by our committee in 1998 is full of information on charging station standards, insurance and public safety implications, building code standards, and other considerations.  The major difference between our earlier study and that being undertaken now is the fact that electric vehicles may finally be making it to the market.  Ready or not, our communities may be having electric vehicles on the road before the end of the year.

 

 

 

 

Ken will be calling constituents on the telephone on Thursday, September 16, at 8:00 p.m. to discuss state issues.  You will get a brief recorded message announcing the purpose of the call.  Please stay on the line to participate in the live meeting.  Ken will be taking calls, answering your questions, and receiving your comments about your interests and concerns.  You will also be able to register your opinion on several issues by using your telephone keypad.  To ensure that you are called, please e-mail your phone number to Ken at kenplum@aol.com or leave it on his answering machine at 703.758.9733.

 

 The General Assembly will likely be called into special session this fall to consider some government reorganizations.  Let Delegate Ken Plum know your opinion on these issues by taking his 2010 Special Survey.  Go to www.kenplum.com and click on the link to the survey.  Email kenplum@aol.com or call 703.758.9733 with your name and home address if you would like a paper copy of the survey to be mailed to you.

 

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