News
ST. PETERSBURG — Electric cars aren't exactly a staple on the roads here — but city officials are betting that will change soon as they prepare to install 10 electric car charging stations in downtown St. Petersburg.
The stations are part of the Get Ready Tampa Bay initiative, a regional partnership that aims to prepare cities for the widespread use of electric vehicles in the near future, said Mike Connors, the city's public works administrator.
The partnership — a local version of a national movement — includes 10 cities, three counties and the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, as well as several area businesses and utility companies. The area could see as many as 100 to 200 charging stations installed in the next year, said Avera Wynne, planning director of the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.
The federally funded Charge Point America program will pay for the stations themselves — cylinders with a payment scanner and an outlet — which cost roughly $14,000 apiece. The city will pay to install and maintain them, Connors said.
The city is still working out what its costs will be, Connors said.
Anthony Iannaccone, who owns a New Port Richey company that installs many charging stations in the Tampa Bay area, said installation fees can range from $1,500 to $9,000.
He said his company, A.A.&I. Electric, expects to install 30 to 40 stations in locations like Tampa, Dunedin and Oldsmar within the next few months. (City employees will install the St. Petersburg's stations)
"Once the cars are actually being sold, then you're going to see the infrastructure really move," Iannaccone said. "Our hardest problem is getting people to be proactive. If you don't have the infrastructure, who's going to buy the car?"
No one knows how many electric cars already are being driven on area roads, but the city is home to an electric vehicle dealership.
Richard Nimphie opened Suncoast Electric Vehicles at 2401 Fourth St. N in January. It's the only dealership in the Tampa Bay area to trade exclusively in electric cars.
Since he opened, he said he's sold about a dozen electric cars and has about a dozen people on a waiting list for the just-released Wheego LiFe, the electric car company's first model capable of driving on a highway. It sells for about $32,995, but buyers are eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit.
"We're very pleased and very excited about the charging stations coming," he said. "It just lends further credence to the viability of electric vehicles."
Potential customers tend to worry about electric vehicles' range, Nimphie said. Lower-end models can travel only about 40 miles on a single charge. The availability of charging stations alleviate those concerns, he said.
"This is just the beginning," he said. "The infrastructure is basically going to grow from here in terms of charging stations all over."
For Bette Damouny, a 62-year-old yoga instructor who bought a Wheego LiFe last month, the charging stations mean she can charge her car more quickly and take longer trips.
"[Charging stations] are so much faster. If my car has a 50 percent charge and I want to go to Tampa, I can go downtown and plug it in for half an hour and get a coffee," she said. "It's kind of scary if it's not available when you do need it."
Normally, it takes 10 hours to fully charge her car in her garage.
In St. Petersburg, drivers will pay $5 to $10 for a 3- to 4-hour charge — enough to fully charge a standard 220-volt electric car.
Damouny said she wouldn't trade her car for the world.
"I just want to be part of the solution," she said. "And it's been so much fun — it's just a riot to drive around."
Loading...
