“Jetson’s cool” EV charging service stations

Source: postcarbon.org

At the bottom of this post are several conceptual designs for EV (electric vehicle) charging stations. Needless to say, many resemble something out of the futuristic 1960s cartoon series, The Jetsons. Each has its own unique twist on the concept of a service center designed specifically for recharging electric vehicles. This urban planner will not be at all surprised to see such facilities popping up at an intersection or interchange near you soon, especially in Europe and America’s West Coast where the most early adopters of this amazing technology reside.

I particularly like the fact that most of the designs shown below employ solar power for generating the electricity. Such facilities would hardly be clean and green if their primary power source was a coal-fired power plant.

I am a bit surprised (and very pleased) that none of the Big Oil players have not dipped their toes into this realm (at least here in the states), but that may change over time. To this eco-dude, the longer they stay out of this niche, the better.

My hope is the bulk of the profits will not come from the electricity for recharging, but instead from the conveniences sold and/or repair services. If swap-out rechargeable batteries become the norm, then a fair share of the profits may come from that service, as well. Either way, EV charging service stations are a new land use that planners will need to start formulating and/or updating codes to properly address.

Tesla design – Source: ukerc.ac.uk

Source: green.autoblog.com

Source: knoxnews.com

Source: knoxnews.com

Source: inhabit.com

Source: green.autoblog.com

Source: ecofriend.com