The need to plan for electric vehicle charging stations in buildings and parking garages has been brought into focus by Saint Peter’s University Hospital and the Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G). The hospital, which is in New Brunswick, NJ, has completed installation of a five-vehicle charging system on the ground floor of the its parking garage.
The lack of charging stations is one of the challenges to the electric vehicle industry, according to PSE&G. In addition to promoting use of electric vehicles, the charging stations enable the collection of usage data. PSE&G has 25 active charging stations at four locations in New Jersey. Ten more are under construction at two sites. The goal is to have 50 charging stations at ten locations by the end of the year.
Electric vehicle charging stations may become an issue in building negotiations. Pollock Financial Group’s is trying to get the city of Palo Alto, CA, to rezone a parking lot to enable construction of a four-story building, according to The Mercury News. One of the possible concessions in exchange for approval is construction of electric vehicle charging stations. It is unclear from the story whether the stations would be in in-building parking space or on the street.
