In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said he wanted 1 million electric vehicles on U.S. streets by 2015, a number that critics say is too high - unless massive subsidies are continued.
Roush Manufacturing in Livonia, Michigan today began making Blink Level 2 charging stations for electric vehicles from San Francisco based Ecotality, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECTY).
The production is the result of a deal with Roush in July 2010 to build Ecotality‘s home and commercial charging stations. An existing Roush automotive facility was refurbished and six laid-off employees rehired.
The U.S. auto industry has lost more than 500,000 jobs since 2007, and unemployment nationwide remains at more than 9%, the highest sustained rate since the Great Depression. All the while, taxpayer supported politicians blather on about “green job” creation and a better future. Data to support this assertion is, thus far, sadly lacking.
Ecotality is manager of “The EV Project” and will oversee installation of commercial and residential electric vehicle charging stations in 17 major metropolitan areas in six states and the District of Columbia.
The project will provide chargers for 8,300 EVs and is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy with $114.8 million of taxpayer supplied moolah under the so-called American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The grants are matched by private investment, bringing the total value of the project to approximately $230 million. The U.S. government is providing buyers of EVs a $7,500 tax credit per car to boost sales of what thus far remain expensive, limited appeal vehicles.
Ecotality home charging stations are said to offer advantages over conventional charging stations, including advanced energy monitoring capabilities that allow homeowners to optimize their energy usage and charge their vehicles when rates are lowest. The Blink Network charger interface is the hub where users can receive information about their EV and Blink Home Charging Station including charge status, statistics and history.
