LAGUNA BEACH – Electric car owners welcomed the opening of two charging stations in downtown, the first open to the public in the city.
City officials and drivers from around Orange County attended a ribbon cutting for the charging stations Tuesday afternoon. Managed by ChargePoint America, a program that connects charging stations with a wireless network, the city paid $21,500 with $15,000 coming from a U.S. Department of Energy grant.
Tesla owner Andrew Castellano fuels up at the ChargePoint charging station with Michael Jones, whose company Coulomb Technologies manufactures the stations.CLAUDIA KOERNER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER"It meets with our value system in terms of the environment," Mayor Toni Iseman said. "It was the right thing to do, especially with the split."
Parking and charging at the two spaces in the lot at Forest Avenue and Laguna Canyon Road will be free until at least September, though time will be limited to four hours.
"Then we're going to take a look at the data and how we move forward," said Will Holoman, a senior water-quality analyst with the city who coordinated the project.
The stations are the first in Laguna Beach, and Holoman said depending on use, the city could add more.
"It's the beginning of a new era," he said.
Locals who drive electric likely will stick to their home charging stations, but Laguna Beach resident and Tesla owner Andrew Castellano said he's happy to see infrastructure growing.
"Someday I'd love to take the car to San Francisco or take a longer road trip. Having the charging stations would make a huge difference," he said.
Matt Walton of Moorpark in Venture County brought his electric Mini Cooper to Laguna Beach. Using ChargePoint's smartphone application, he could check the status of the charging stations before leaving home.
"I drove down here knowing I could come down and charge," he said.
For Steven Kettner of Irvine, the new charging station will make his family more likely to spend time in Laguna Beach.
"If I'm low on charge, I can still come down here and not have to worry about getting home," he said.
Charging stations have long been in Costa Mesa and Anaheim. Seal Beach took out its old charging stations in 2005 because of lack of use, but with more electric cars now on the road, officials there voted in January to reinstall two stations and add another. Linda Nicholes, a longtime member of advocacy group Plug In America, said south Orange County has historically not been as accessible to electric vehicle drivers.
"This part of the county just has been vacant when it comes to charging infrastructure," she said.
About 10 electric car owners brought out their vehicles Tuesday to try out the new Laguna Beach stations.
"It's really fantastic to see this and just to emphasize how much we need infrastructure," said Michael Jones of Coulomb Technologies, which manufactures charging stations for ChargePoint.
The company is working with $37 million from the Department of Energy to build 5,000 charging stations around the country.
"At the end of the day, this is about building an industry," he said. "It's local. It's sustainable."
Contact the writer: ckoerner@ocregister.com or 949-454-7309
Tesla owner Andrew Castellano fuels up at the ChargePoint charging station with Michael Jones, whose company Coulomb Technologies manufactures the stations.CLAUDIA KOERNER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
LAGUNA BEACH – Electric car owners welcomed the opening of two charging stations in downtown, the first open to the public in the city.
City officials and drivers from around Orange County attended a ribbon cutting for the charging stations Tuesday afternoon. Managed by ChargePoint America, a program that connects charging stations with a wireless network, the city paid $21,500 with $15,000 coming from a U.S. Department of Energy grant.
"It meets with our value system in terms of the environment," Mayor Toni Iseman said. "It was the right thing to do, especially with the split."
LAGUNA BEACH – Electric car owners welcomed the opening of two charging stations in downtown, the first open to the public in the city.
City officials and drivers from around Orange County attended a ribbon cutting for the charging stations Tuesday afternoon. Managed by ChargePoint America, a program that connects charging stations with a wireless network, the city paid $21,500 with $15,000 coming from a U.S. Department of Energy grant.
"It meets with our value system in terms of the environment," Mayor Toni Iseman said. "It was the right thing to do, especially with the split."
