Word: carly
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Calif., the wealthy suburb north of Los Angeles where he lives. What they're shouting about is his battery-powered electric vehicle, one of up to 30,000 estimated to hit the streets of Southern California in the next 36 months, the biggest expected e-car surge in the country...
...some accounts, the next 10 years will see as many as 1.6 million electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles zipping around the state, in what is shaping up to be the nation's e-car proving ground. But in the 1990s a similar optimism hit here too, only to fizzle as gas prices plummeted and gas-guzzling SUVs took over the auto market with a vengeance. (See the history of the electric car...
That was then; this is now. Strong government incentives and regulations, car and battery-maker innovations and the public's genuine concern for global warming are all contributing to the EV enthusiasm. But utilities are working feverishly to put infrastructure standards in place; the prospect of managing rapid EV growth has utility executives both amped up over the opportunity and queasy about unplanned snafus...
While EV owners can charge the cars by plugging them into a regular 110-volt outlet, the "slow charge" can take up to eight hours and may jack up an electric bill the equivalent of 2 kilowatts per month. Most e-car owners will eventually want to plug in their faster, highway-approved EVs into new rapid-charging, 220-volt garage chargers. But that requires another step: finding a certified electrician and several thousand more dollars to install the add-on feature to the home or garage...
Watch TIME's video about charging your electric car for 60 cents...