Hybrids to Hotrods – Electric Avenue

Fellow EV Supporters – Just in case you have not yet heard…  Join us on Electric Avenue May 12th in San Jose for Hybrids to Hotrods!

Once in a while the stars, planets, moons or whatever else you like to track align and everything comes together.  As an early adopters working tirelessly supporting Electric Vehicles one can only dream about the chance to educate thousands of people about driving Electric.

Now add in a huge supporting cast of fellow Electric Vehicle Owners (EV Education), Electric Vehicle charging providers (EV Charging Confidence) and on the spot Electric Vehicle test drives (EV Driving Experience) sponsored by Silicon Valley Area Auto Dealers and you have the most comprehensive grass roots based formula to boost Electric Vehicle main stream adoption ever held in the Silicon Valley.

Oh wait – there’s more!  You get to do this right along side hundreds of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), gas burning cars!

Be sure to invite your friends and family to join in the fun and stop by “Electric Avenue”.  You will be joining Electric Auto Association Bay Area Chapters, Plug-In America and San Francisco Bay Area EV Supporters for the Second Annual San Jose Mercury News Hybrids to Hotrods car show

This is a family event with non-stop entertainment your entire family will enjoy.  Take a moment to watch to this trailer put together by the Mercury News and Mike Hennessy.  Join the fun.

Eating your own dog food?

In Silicon Valley it is common to say – “Eat your own dog food” – meaning that you test and prove your products by using them yourself. On that theme I posed this question members of the Electric Vehicle Career Network – Do you own and drive an Electric Vehicle?

Turns out that the answer is a resounding “Yes!” with nearly 90% of members who voted indicating they already are driving Electric experiencing the “EV Grin” on a daily basis.  This is great news because it means the group is attracting exceptional talent from around the world – and they are already driving the talk.

Electric Vehicle Career Network

It all started with one conversation, then another and dozens more to follow.  We meet up with others that are working tirelessly to promote electric vehicles and all passionately want this industry to succeed.  Whether our expertise is in technology, business, government one thing is clear – we are thinking about this Electric Car thing.  Constantly.

What better way to harness this energy than to be sure those that are committed and passion for the Electric Vehicle meet up with opportunities to work in the industry itself?

Whether you are new to EVs or have been working in the industry for years join us on LinkedIn.  The Electric Vehicle Career Network has just taken flight.

Overcoming Barriers to Charging Infrastructure Implementation

Installing infrastructure for a new era of Electric Vehicles is proving to be difficult.  In this session moderated by Green On Ramp’s Paul Stith we talked about the challenges and the road ahead – AGRION – Overcoming Barriers to Charging Infrastructure Implementation.

Representing key early Electric Vehicle Service Providers were Obrie Hostetter from 350 Green along with Jason Smith of ECOtality.  Also sharing their perspectives were Dave Head, Fleet Manager for the County of Sonoma and Rich Larsen, New Power Technologies, Mayor of Los Altos Hills, California.

Topping the list of challenges were finding suitable and interested locations, costs associated with retrofitting parking lots to meet updated access requirements ADA for (American Disabilities Act), site improvement costs and permitting delays.  Once each of these challenges have been met, the largest barrier remaining is getting site owners to sign hosting agreements.  As many as 50% of site implementations currently being are derailed at this point after all other barriers have been overcome.