Break out your EVs if you got ’em, because Mount Hood now has a fast-charging station for electric vehicles at the Skibowl West parking lot. Will anyone use it?
The installation makes Skibowl the first resort on Mount Hood and just the second in the U.S. to have an EV charging station, with a 480-volt quick-charge unit that can fully charge a vehicle in 20 to 30 minutes and a 240-volt trickle-charge unit that takes four to six hours.
It’s part of Oregon’s border-to-border Electric Highway project, which has branched out of cities to ease driver fears about running out of juice in remote areas.
“The opening of the Mt. Hood fast charger marks a major milestone in Oregon’s efforts to support electric vehicle travel across the state, including to wild and scenic places and recreation destinations,” said Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber in a prepared statement. “This not only helps minimize our environmental impact, it also creates an economic boost for small businesses located along Oregon Electric Byways.”
The chargers are built by Aerovironment, an innovative engineering company headquartered in Monrovia, California that specializes in unmanned aerial vehicles, solar-powered airplanes and electric vehicle infrastructure.
Oregon has embraced electric vehicles for years and even has a Chief EV Officer, Ashley Horvat. But you certainly don’t see a lot of Nissan Leafs on the mountain, or really anywhere in Oregon. At least not yet. But EVs could become more commonplace as drivers get used to the idea.
Anyone who does drive an EV n Oregon will be saving money in the long run. Charging an EV in Oregon costs the equivalent of one dollar per gallon. That’s a savings of $2.34 cents per gallon on average because of our low electricity gas prices and high gasoline prices.
Most electric vehicles currently on the market are light and low to the ground – though reportedly they perform well in the snow. As for the future, there are several all-wheel drive EVs in development.
The most hyped among the coming generation of AWD EVs is the Tesla Model X, an SUV capable of going zero-to-60 miles per hour in five seconds. But its release has been delayed due to engineering complications. First deliveries were scheduled for 2014 but now the release date has been pushed back to 2015.
Once the Model X and the eventual copycat models are ready, Mount Hood will be ready for them.
Last modified: February 28, 2014
