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GM and utilities plan the build out. (cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=185021)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2011_Chevrolet_Volt1.jpgWayne Gerdes – CleanMPG (cleanmpg.com) – Feb. 3, 2009

2011 Chevrolet Volt will arrive before any public infrastructure is ready.

WASHINGTON – GM outlined a comprehensive plan of action to help communities get ready for the upcoming Chevrolet Volt PHEV at Washington Auto Show this morning.

"Collaborating with communities such as San Francisco and metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C. - where there's already an interest in PHEVs - is another important step toward raising customer awareness of the environmental and economic benefits of vehicles such as the Volt," said Ed Peper, GM North America vice president, Chevrolet.

GM is working with cities such as San Francisco to develop policies to accelerate the transition to PHEVs. GM will undertake similar efforts in larger cities across the country. These actions will help ensure the early success of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. Stakeholders that are key to establishing plug-in-ready metropolitan areas and regions include the following:

Stakeholders
State, city and county governments
Electric utilities
Regulators/public utility commissions
Permitting and code officials
Clean Cities coalitions
Local employers
Universities
Early electric vehicle adopters
"Cities have an indispensable role in making plug-in vehicles successful," said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. "Here in San Francisco, we are acting now to make sure the charging infrastructure will be available to support these vehicles as soon as they are ready for sale, and we are working with other cities in the region to make the Bay Area a thriving market for electric transportation."

Challenges that need to be addressed include consumer incentives to make this early technology more affordable; public and workplace charging infrastructure; consumer-friendly electricity rates and renewable electricity options; government and corporate vehicle purchases; supportive permitting and codes for vehicle charging; and other incentives such as high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lane access.

GM is making great strides toward bringing the Volt from concept to the showroom with more than 30 prototype vehicles powered by lithium-ion battery packs undergoing testing at GM's Proving Ground in Milford, Mi.

"The Chevy Volt is truly coming to life, but preparing the market for electric vehicles also requires capable partners from outside the auto industry," said Peper. "Momentum is building as governments, technology companies, communities and universities are increasingly working together to prepare the market for electric vehicles."
Several recent positive developments in this regard include:
Last October, the federal government approved a $7,500 tax incentive for consumers of plug-in electric vehicles such as the Chevy Volt.
In November, the California cities of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland announced a plan for plug-in vehicle infrastructure, incentives and enablers.
A new Michigan law expedites the development of advanced battery manufacturing and research capabilities in the state.
GM is also helping to pave the way to plug-in commercialization on several other fronts, including:
Working with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and a coalition of more than 40 utilities to solve challenges and accelerate the commercialization of plug-in electric vehicles.
Playing a lead role in helping to create Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standards for the vehicle charging interface.
"We know plenty of work still remains, both within and outside of GM," said Peper. "But today's and other recent announcements underscore the comprehensive work being done to bring the Chevrolet Volt and other electrically driven vehicles to market - and they also highlight why we are so optimistic about the ultimate success of the Volt."

I'd hate to be one of these big city mayors when it comes to election time. It will be hard to explain to the taxpayers why hundreds of millions of dollars of electrical utility upgrades were done in order to service a vehicle that's got a very high chance of not being built.

Wait a minute. I thought this thing's basically a PHEV. As such, you should be able to just plug it in at night in your house. Plus if you run out of charge, there's a gasoline engine to get you home. What other infrastructure does this thing need?

As such, you should be able to just plug it in at night in your house.

That's just it. Our electrical infrastructure doesn't have much excess in it right now, and this will be an added load to it. Rapid adoption of PHEV may stretch that infrastructure beyond it's limits.

Are they going under? And tossing out the left over bail money?

"GM to offer buyouts to all hourly employees".

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090203/ap_on_bi_ge/general_motors_buyouts

"GM would offer $20,000 in cash and a $25,000 car voucher for workers who retire early and those who simply leave the company".


I'll bet they would get a lot of takers if they offered a 25k Toyota or Honda car voucher

That's just it. Our electrical infrastructure doesn't have much excess in it right now, and this will be an added load to it. Rapid adoption of PHEV may stretch that infrastructure beyond it's limits.

But we actually do have an excess at night. During the daytime not so much.

GM's new phfzzzzzZZZVOLTZZzzzzz ... phup.

Deliverable to a dealer near you in (2010 plus a dice roll)

But we actually do have an excess at night. During the daytime not so much.

Exactly. I don't see what the big deal is. Long-term, we do need upgrades, though.

Exactly. I don't see what the big deal is. Long-term, we do need upgrades, though.

Agreed.

I think that in general, efforts to support / enable it would be a good thing. My own guideline would be, the dollars spent have to benefit us all. Grid improvements would pass muster for me. Because we all suffer when it fails in the summer, and we'll all benefit from its improvement.

Drives to put charging outlets in parking lots probably should be postponed till the grid is ready for the load. Until then people should charge up at night when the power is available.

Tax incentives / rebates would have to be graduated and based on standardized mpg figures in order to be fair and effective (or possible based on engine displacement like in Europe). Case in point: my hypermiled Civic HX gets within spitting distance of the mpg of a Civic Hybrid or a Prius. My own state of CT charges no sales tax on hybrids but I had to pay the tax when I bought the Civic.

Those incentives should continue as long as you own the car. An annual tax, based on your mpg. That would help drive fsp's out of use and would encourage people to keep and maintain gas sippers.

Agreed.
Tax incentives / rebates would have to be graduated and based on standardized mpg figures in order to be fair and effective (or possible based on engine displacement like in Europe). Case in point: my hypermiled Civic HX gets within spitting distance of the mpg of a Civic Hybrid or a Prius. My own state of CT charges no sales tax on hybrids but I had to pay the tax when I bought the Civic.

Those incentives should continue as long as you own the car. An annual tax, based on your mpg. That would help drive fsp's out of use and would encourage people to keep and maintain gas sippers.

Decreasing the income tax and replacing it with a hefty gas tax does all that automatically. It rewards small, efficient cars, hypermiling, PHEVs, bikes, pedestrians, mass transit, combining trips, and living near your workplace. It doesn't upgrade the grid, but as several folks have pointed out, we don't have a nighttime issue. Do we really want people doing daytime charging? That is when we have the most inefficient (or at least highest fuel cost) generators on-line.

Seems silly to install electrics yet....too many questions and no needed standards.

How to you (city) recoup the cost of electricity? Surely they will as least charge cost.
How do you control power outlets? PHEVs don't "need" power, so unless the power company has spare, it should be charged.
How do you identify type of car plugged in? Cars need ID chips that identify PHEV/EV;
How do you prevent theft of power? What keeps someone else from taking the plug you paid for and tapping in for their car?

There are all things that really should have been designed and agreed to before the first major production EV/PHEV rolled out, but I haven't heard of any real standards being discussed beyond the theoretical or local stage. While the Volt may not be the first "major" production vehicle, it does represent a marked that that shows these kinds of agreements are behind. Certainly to come up with a standard tomorrow and require the Volt to meet it would be inapropriate, but I suppose it could be optional. If you want to use government charging stations, you have to have the right tech in your car...then leave it up the car makers to match that tech.

As far as plugging in your car at home...it has been mentioned that not everyone has a home where they can plug in their car, especially city folks. For them, they would need something like this. I would hope cities would have the funds available to install metered charging points as needed, but not install until they get a request. The person would pay a monthly fee plus electric costs to the city, but in addition to getting the meter, they get a dedicated parking space where others would be towed. As the meters become more common in the city and general adoption begins, the monthly fee would be dropped, but so would the person's personal rights to the meter/spot.

This is not really a Volt or PHEV issue. It is one for future straight EVs.

European cities face it today with their straight electric cars (Gwiz, etc.). If you don't have a garage and park out on the city street overnight, you have an 'infrastructure problem' getting a charge.

PHEVs get around this problem by running the auxiliary, if you need to.

But phevs can be effictivly by EVs if the charging stations are readily available, and they get all the benefits...lower fuel cost, lower operating cost, and, probably, less polution. Certainly less pollution within the city.