New Jersey now has its first “DC Fast Charging” station for
electric vehicles, with the official opening of the new U-Go charger at the
Wyndham Hotel in Mount Laurel. The
new facility is located on Route 73, just off Exit 4 of the New Jersey Turnpike
and very close to Exit 36 of I-295.
Why is this important?
Unlike typical home and public EV chargers, Fast Chargers can “fill up”
a depleted battery in 30 minutes.
That means that a strategically placed network of Fast Chargers can make
long distance travel practical, even for today’s first-generation electric
cars. And that’s exactly what the
U-Go Stations people – owner/operator of the site – plan to do. They are looking for locations up and
down the Northeast Corridor, from Washington, DC, to Boston (company website
here).
In the frustratingly non-standardized world of electric
vehicles, not all EVs will be able to charge here, at least for now. The Mount Laurel charger is a “CHAdeMO” design, meaning it will only work for
the Nissan LEAF and other Japanese electrics (although Tesla has said they will
offer a CHAdeMO adapter for sale for $1,000).
EV drivers will be able to find Mount Laurel via onboard
information (on the LEAF) and via the USDOE website. What would be helpful – and hopefully on the way – would be
wayfinding signs on the Turnpike, I-295, and Route 73.
A real network of Fast Chargers would not only make longer
distance travel practical for EV drivers, it would also reduce their “range
anxiety,” by reassuring them that if they travel a little farther afield than
intended and the battery runs low, they are not far from a place where they can
get a quick recharge.
Congratulations to U-Go Stations for an important step
forward!
Congratulations also to Nissan, which continues its
commitment to electric transportation, Chuck Feinberg and New Jersey Clean
Cities, the state’s chief EV boosters (see their website here), Wyndham Hotels,
and Mayor Linda Bobo and Mount Laurel Township!
(Photos are of the ribbon-cutting and of Chuck Feinberg and
yours truly.)
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