4,400 Volt Owners Will Be Eligible For Free Home Charging Stations

A new US Department of Energy initiative will serve to furnish Volt owners with home charging stations for the upcoming EREV. With the help of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Transportation Electrification Initiative, the program will result in the installation of 4,400 free charging stations. On top of that, federal funds will be set aside to aid in the installation of 15,000 stations (including the 4,400 free ones).

The charging stations, the installation of which will be facilitated by ECOtality, Inc. and Coulomb Technologies, are capable of delivering 240 volts compared to the standard 120-volt outlets in homes. Using a 240-volt outlet could save between $1000 and $2000 dollars over a standard household outlet.

The government has two objectives for the program. First, Uncle Sam wants to gather data on electrical vehicle usage in order to determine what will be necessary for electric vehicle infrastructure. The U.S. government is aiming to collect information on the average charge time, energy usage, and the average start and stop times of the charge. After this data is gathered, conclusions can be drawn with the purpose of establishing an electric infrastructure to support electric vehicles (EVs). The second goal is rather simple – to give consumers an additional incentive to purchase electrical vehicles.

Volt buyers will receive a 120-volt charging cable and will have the option to install a 240-volt charging station at time of purchase at Chevrolet. Volt buyers that live within the program cities may apply for a free 240-volt home charging station through the Coulomb or ECOtality programs (if they are willing to share their charging information). Eligibility and application details will be announced once the Chevrolet Volt is available for sale later in 2010.