Electric car charging station set for Carson

Future power is coming to Carson City in the form of an electric car charging station, according to city government’s senior project manager.

Recharging power will be available free to the public the first five years under terms of the project, which was made possible in part by grants from NV Energy and the Nevada Governor’s Office on Energy, in cooperation with the city. Those two entities put up most of the money, according to Tom Grundy, city project manager.

“You know, this is the future,” said Grundy, an engineer. “In my mind, this is a big deal for Carson City.”

He said the power station came in Wednesday via several boxes, but then backtracked to say it actually came while he was away the day before and he found it the boxes when he returned to his office. Weather-permitting, he said, the two-vehicle unit will be assembled and installed on Community Center grounds before the end of the month. Because a 2-foot-deep hole must be dug, only frozen-solid ground could delay that.

Roger Moellendorf, director of the Parks and Recreation Department that oversees Community Center operations, said the cost to the city for providing the power will be minimal over the five years. He and Grundy said the estimate is up to $500 annually, or $2,500 total. The city doesn’t have any electric vehicles yet, but the city wouldn’t want to delay public use of the station anyway, Moellendorf said.

He said the idea fits in with the city’s strategic plan, which favors a clean and healthy environment, and he didn’t rule out city electric vehicles down the line. That’s not in the works soon, Moellendorf said.

The new station will be among fewer than 100 in Nevada and joins just a pair in Carson City, which are at the local NV Energy office, at 875 Long St., Grundy said. He said there are 79 in the state, and none charges for power. That is part of the deal: five years of free power to the public in exchange for funding to install such a station, Grundy said.

In this case, financing for the station itself was $11,000, Grundy said, with NV Energy supplying $7,000, the state’s energy office $3,500 and the city the balance.

One of the reasons Grundy sees the project as part of the future is the technology involved, which allows owners of electric vehicles to find out locations of the few power stations across the state. He said there is an app for cellphones that can pinpoint such locations, and electric vehicles have that capability as well.

“They’re pretty neat,” he said. “It’s pretty high-tech.”

Grundy said such information is available at chargepoint.com, which regularly updates the information. He also indicated more stations are coming on line regularly. He said many electric utilities, such as NV Energy, are embracing the electric vehicle future and installing stations, as are some car dealers.

City government’s new two-vehicle power station, which Grundy said looks a bit like a petrol pump at a gas station, will be installed just southwest of the Community Center and a bit northwest of the nearby Aquatic Center building just off Roop Street. It is called a CT4100 Double Station, he said. He expressed excitement that the project is near completion.

“We will be done and it will be operational at the end of the year,” Grundy predicted