SURREY (NEWS1130) – Surrey has become the first place in BC where electric car owners can get a quick charge.
Bruce Stout with the Vancouver Electric Car Association says the new station at BC Hydro’s Powertech facility marks a turning point in the availability of the technology in BC.
Within a half hour, cars will be able to get enough power to run for 100 kilometres. Right now, an hour at a typical charging station will only provide 20 kilometres worth of power.
Stout says within a year, we’ll see many more fast chargers.
“The Surrey Museum in Cloverdale will have a fast charger. There will be one of these fast chargers in North Vancouver, probably at the foot of Lonsdale. There will be one in Whistler, one in Squamish, one in Hope,” he explains.
“There will be 13 of these in the province within a short period of time. Later another 17 will be rolled out. Essentially, you will be able to take what’s considered an urban vehicle and drive it to another municipality.”
Charging is free, for now, while the station is put through its paces.
BC is now considered the leader in providing charging stations. The province now has 450 stations, the highest number per capita in Canada.
Meanwhile, Oregon already has 40 fast charging stations.
BC is home to about 600 cars that have some sort of plug-in system.