If we find that the electric vehicles coming out in the next 24 months have a common charging system, we can build up that infrastructure through various means.

1) governments and businesses provide charging stations (as this post references).
2) a company installs charging stations like parking meters in high EV areas
3) a charging co-op is developed where the coop finds places to install the charging stations and individuals purchase the station for a longer term investment, but also receive royalties and discounts to provide incentive for the investment.

What I find interesting is #3, the co-op. This is something I can’t find reference to online, but see a huge potential here. Imagine if 1 out of 10 Prius owners invested $5K or $10K into a charging station(s). We would have >100,000 charging stations purchased and the purchasers would earn interest on their money as their stations gained more use. Since some stations would be higher traffic than others, all resources from the network of stations in the specific co-op would share revenues providing a small return to the investor every quarter and allowing them a discount on the cost of a recharge.

I have not run the detailed numbers on this model, but it helps solve the chicken and egg problem. If people are serious about EV cars, lets collaborate and invest in the future.

I would envision each metro area having a separate charging co-op (non profit) which would organize and coordinate the network of charging stations. Once the investment money is paid off, there will be a surplus to purchase more charging stations, provide upgrades/maintenance, and best of all offset the cost of charging to all the members!

If the cost of a station (or two) is too high, the car manufacturers could split the difference and once the car dealer receives the money back the end user would start receiving royalties.

As for targeting metro areas, start with the top 10 cities based on level of interest. This should coincide with the target markets the EV car manufacturers are advertising in. Limiting this to the top 10 cities would focus monies from the car companies and consumers to fuel a successful rollout of EV vehicles. Maybe 2 years later (early 2012) would it make sense to roll out to the next set of (25 more) cities once a proven model is in place.

Even the early adopters in areas with little infrastructure will go out of their way to utilize an EV to the maximum potential until the infrastructure is in place.

The big pieces I don’t know are the cost of a charging station, the cost of renting the location at a parking spot, and most importantly the cost of the electricity. Regardless people should be willing to pay a similar cost/mile as gasoline to make the switch.

The fuel efficiency depends on the electric vehicle, not the ChargePoint, I guess. I think it is great that these smart charging stations are rolled out now. We actually own a full electric car so we’d love to be able to charge it anywhere!

In the next few year we are all part of a massive shift in the way we move around. The electric vehicle has great potential. I am very excited to see all these innovations happening as we speak.