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Boulder Launches Electric Car Charging Stations

The city of Boulder built two electric car charging stations near the South Boulder Recreation Center. Overall the city expects to build 40 stations by June 2012.
city of Boulder
The city of Boulder built two electric car charging stations near the South Boulder Recreation Center. Overall the city expects to build 40 stations by June 2012.

The city of Boulder celebrated the launch of two public electric vehicle charging stations today. They were built thanks to a $500,000 federal grant secured by Democratic Representative Jared Polis.

Facility and Fleet Manager Joe Castro said users will pay $1 per hour to charge their vehicle at the stations located in South Boulder.

“These federal dollars are giving Boulder an opportunity to test out some new technology on electric vehicle charging and how to control and monitor it,” he said.

Right now Boulder has just a handful of electric cars on the road. That’s because they’re not yet available for sale in the state. Both Ford and Nissan have plans to sell models next year in Colorado.

Castro said he expects as many as 300 to appear in Boulder in 2012. He said setting up charging stationsbefore electric cars become widely available is key to promoting the technology. In anticipation, he said the city will launch another 38 charging stations by June of 2012.

“I think it’s helping consumers, giving them the confidence that the infrastructure will be there and available for them when they make those buying decisions,” he said.