Village to Get Charging Stations

As of Monday, July 16, 2012

By Tom Embrey

Senior Writer

Martin Sepko is charged up about having more electric car-charging stations in Moore County.

"It would definitely be a plus," said Sepko, a Carthage resident who was among the first in Moore County to own an electric car.

The Pinehurst Village Council has approved plans to work with Progress Energy Carolinas on installing two charging stations in the sand parking lot downtown.

The units will be installed for free. Pinehurst would only be responsible for the cost of electricity, which a Progress Energy spokesperson said would be about $100 a year per station. A similar station to be installed in Pinehurst costs approximately $2,200.

The stations only charge electric cars. They are incompatible with electric golf carts.

Customers can use the chargers by swiping their credit cards.

Sepko and his wife, Lora, bought their Chevy Volt in October. He said he thinks a local charging station would definitely be a small thing that could sway more people to choose this area as a destination, or as a stopping point on their trip.

"When they get those stations up and available, it would definitely be a plus," he said. "A lot of people from out of state like to drive their electric vehicle and they also like to know they can charge it up when they get there."

The stations are planned to be installed in September, according to a Progress Energy spokesperson.

The two stations will be in the downtown parking lot in a location that won't be affected by construction that could occur if proposed enhancements move forward.

The program is partly funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Currently, 24 electric charging stations have been installed in the Carolinas. The first two stations were installed in Cary in September 2011. Several have been installed in Raleigh. The closest two stations to Moore County are in Pittsboro on the campus of Central Carolina Community College.

Data collected from the stations will help the power company evaluate the charging needs outside of the home, said Progress Energy spokesperson Lauren Bradford.

It is also hoped that access to public charging stations will allow owners of electric cars to travel greater distances and also boost use of electric cars, she added.

Data collected and lessons learned from the stations will help the utility evaluate charging needs outside the home, impact on the grid and the costs and issues associated with installing public-access charging stations. These insights will help the utility better plan for the large-scale adoption of plug-in vehicles, Bradford said.

"We use a host of criteria to help determine which customers to whom we will propose the installation of charging stations," Bradford said. "In addition to aiming to spread out the charging stations geographically, we also base the decision partially on research we have done regarding residents' interest in plug-in electric vehicles.

"One of the areas we identified as having early interest in plug-in vehicles includes Pinehurst and nearby areas in Moore County."

At the end of the program, estimated to be approximately two years, the stations will become property of the village and it will be responsible for upkeep.

Larry Cox, chairman of the village of Pinehurst's Alternative Energy Committee, was an advocate for Pinehurst's involvement in the program. He said he jumped at the idea of locating the chargers in Pinehurst.

"They said they were considering Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen " Cox said. "I wanted us to be that community. Right away I'm thinking we're here, we have everything they want and the price is right."

Electric charger stations are now safer and more efficient than they've every been, Cox said. Many locations are searchable online and through mobile apps and GPS devices, Cox said.

One of the limiting factors for electric cars is their range. Most batteries can go about 40 miles before they need to be recharged. Charging the battery can take up to four hours.

Cox said he thinks that the new stations in Pinehurst will encourage visitors to come to Pinehurst because now they will have a place to charge up for their return trip.

"It's going to draw some people here," Cox said. "The neat thing is, when somebody has an electric vehicle and they want to take it any distance, you have to find charging stations. Now we will have that."

Contact Tom Embrey at (910) 693-2484 or tembrey@thepilot.com.

More like this story

bigD 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Now both of the local Volt owners will be able to charge up at the same time....What a waste!

alladat1 10 months, 2 weeks ago

bigD - The next time you think "Change" is easy - just look in the mirror.

stephen 10 months, 2 weeks ago

change isn't easy. But if the product is good, the government won't need to pay for us to use it. I don't believe the government built a single gas station when the car was invented. Oh, I broke an energy saving light bulb yesterday. Has anyone looked online to see what the cleanup process is? It is crazy. And an environmental hazard. I think Hazmat should be called whenever one of these breaks.

Sherwood 10 months, 2 weeks ago

"But if the product is good, the government won't need to pay for us to use it."

God forbid the government subsidize the transition to mixed/alternative energy sources. :)

And let's take a look at IBM. Much of what IBM was working on in the 50's and 60's was not profitable. Sure the government could afford, and had uses for, the systems developed by IBM. But if the U.S. government had not guaranteed purchases or subsidized R&D, IBM would have gone out of business before they could have developed systems for civilian use.

The same approach was used to initially develop what is now mostly private infrastructure you seem to take for granted, like the Internet. Both computers and the Internet were developed largely through government funding. And once these technologies became marketable and profitable, they were turned over to the private sector. Jobs were created and the markets rejoiced. :)

clarabelle 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Sherwood - the right here find it very difficult to leave the 18th century!

lfc 10 months, 1 week ago

The plan to repave the sandlot would require a loss in parking spaces. The Historic Committee doesn't like it and the newest plan requires a larger reduction in parking spaces. So how much space do these charging stations need? How many additional parking spaces will disappear for this? Hmmm, they take credit cards too...sounds very charming, historic and certainly will be visual. Is there a reason these stations couldn't be located with gas stations...let all cars go to the same locations and make it easy and less confusing for everyone, no matter what you drive. Or maybe we should just put a gas station in the sand lot~

Bflat 10 months, 1 week ago

Downtown Raleigh has had the charging stations for a while and use for free until they figure out whether to start billing people. When you research the costs of electric vs gas, electric costs more. The plus side is a cleaner environment but somewhere the production of electric causes pollution anyway.

pinehurstmom 10 months, 1 week ago

Well, it sounded like the Village of Pinehurst was getting its act together and making an effort to bring business into the village. Then, they go and do something STUPID like wasting money on charging stations!! How about working on attracting some businesses that will bring the locals in, instead of overpriced items that the average family cannot afford. You cannot survive on tourists. Southern Pines has that figured out, why can't Pinehurst get it!

alladat1 10 months, 1 week ago

Hey - all of you negative people - I think they just discovered a cure for cancer - go to the First Health blog now and complain.

pinehurstmom 10 months, 1 week ago

I have a right to be negative. That's my money they are wasting!

Sherwood 10 months, 1 week ago

Hey, pinehurstmom.

From the article: "The units will be installed for free. Pinehurst would only be responsible for the cost of electricity, which a Progress Energy spokesperson said would be about $100 a year per station. A similar station to be installed in Pinehurst costs approximately $2,200."

How much of your money is going in to this? In what way is it wasteful? In the long-run?

Bflat 10 months, 1 week ago

It will probably take up valuable parking space that only those with electric cars on charger can use.

pinehurstmom 10 months, 1 week ago

US Dept. of Energy is part of the US government. I pay taxes, therefore, it is my money!

NewspaperReader 10 months, 1 week ago

Sherwood - "But if the U.S. government had not guaranteed purchases or subsidized R&D, IBM would have gone out of business before they could have developed systems for civilian use."

That is quite a bold claim. IBM had already been around for 70 years in 1950, and was an extremely successful company. Your point is based on a fallacious assumption that if something subsidized by the government does well, it would have failed without government intervention.

I don't disagree that the government can and has played a vital role in developing infrastructure for emerging technologies, but I think there is a significant difference between computing and the internet, and the electric car.

clarabelle 10 months, 1 week ago

"pinehurstmom - US Dept. of Energy is part of the US government. I pay taxes, therefore, it is my money!"

well - perhaps if you whimper enough they will give you back your tenth of a penny!

JD 10 months, 1 week ago

US Dept. of Energy is part of the US government. I pay taxes, therefore, it is my money!

U.S. Dept. of Energy =/= Progress Energy

NewspaperReader 10 months, 1 week ago

JD - "U.S. Dept. of Energy =/= Progress Energy"

Read the whole article next time -

"The program is partly funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009."

pinehurstmom 10 months, 1 week ago

Sure, it's not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but wasteful government spending is what has gotten this country into its current economic condition. Whether its a small waste or a big waste, it needs to stop!

JD 10 months, 1 week ago

Newspaper try some reading comprehension.

This project managed by Pinehurst and PE applied for a grant no differently than any other institution. College grants, churches getting composters receiving EPA grants to purchase them. Saying that is her tax money is the same as telling the cop that pulls you over that you 'pay his salary.' It's over the top. It would be nice if the size of the grant was reported. The fake outrage is a bit much.

NewspaperReader 10 months, 1 week ago

JD - "Newspaper try some reading comprehension. The units will be installed for free."

Free to the town because of a federal grant, not free because Progress Energy is installing them at no cost. No matter how you look at it, taxpayer money is funding it.

Sherwood 10 months, 1 week ago

NewspaperReader, you make a good point. But let me clarify.

What I meant to convey was that without guarantees and subsidized R&D, IBM would have not been likely to pursue the development of computers as we know them today and would have been more likely to pursue other more profitable endeavors. And if IBM had pursued such without the guarantees and subsidized R&D, they likely would have gone out of business.

I don't see how funding the development of infrastructure related to electric cars is any different from funding the development of computers and the internet.

Sherwood 10 months, 1 week ago

pinehurstmom,

"...but wasteful government spending is what has gotten this country into its current economic condition."

There was a housing bubble that burst in 2007/2008 which lead to a financial crisis which lead to a general economic crisis. Whether or not the government played a role in exacerbating the situation is debatable, but I assure you that "wasteful government spending" was not the primary cause of the situation.

JD 10 months, 1 week ago

Paper misquoting doesn't get you anywhere. I captioned the part you should have paid attention too.

Free to the town because of a federal grant Where does it say that? It is free because of PE and "Partly funded by a grant" How much is partly is what is important.

You imply as if the entire thing is funded by the grant. That is false.

Using grant money along with town resources to improve infrastructure is fine. What exactly is your faux outrage over? The town applying for grants? Updating the area for future needs?

skylinefirepest 10 months, 1 week ago

Once again Clarabelle calls names without actually giving a second's thought to the subject at hand. Clarabelle, why do you waste your time?

clarabelle 10 months, 1 week ago

skylinefirepest............

I have a simple answer for your simple mind. When you get to a post by me - simply tell the person that reads for you - to pass it by!

But - to be honest......I think you enjoy them!

btw .......... if you look a bit deeper (yes - i know that's asking a lot)....... you can take away that I find nothing wrong with the idea of charging stations. I just assumed any person with average intelligence would have gathered that!

Zoey 10 months, 1 week ago

"I just assumed"

Let's not go there.....

buckmark 10 months, 1 week ago

The article does not say how much the Town of Pinehurst will charge to use the stations. It just says that consumers can just swipe their credit cards. Don;t know about anyone else but i like to know the price of things up front.

NewspaperReader 10 months, 1 week ago

Sherwood - "I don't see how funding the development of infrastructure related to electric cars is any different from funding the development of computers and the internet."

The benefits of computing and the internet are unique and clear to see, but with the electric car it is much less so. If charged with electricity generated by a coal plant, a ZEV ends up in a similar lifetime emission range as a hybrid, while hybrids have the benefits of going hundreds of miles farther on a tank, being able to fill up in a few minutes instead of hours, and generally being less expensive.

JD - "What exactly is your faux outrage over?"

What outrage? Where in any of my posts did I imply outrage about anything? My only point in responding to you was that pinehurstmom is justified in saying that this is funded by taxpayer dollars.