By B.J. Coleman

Driving a wholly electric-powered vehicle is still a chancy experience. A short battery charge and the resulting limited driving range make for a transportation option that has yet to achieve its full potential, because drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) can be caught stranded if they run out of electrical charge before locating an EV charging station for “refueling.”

Help is on the way in the interim. And Jacques Chirazi with San Diego’s Economic Development Division is preparing to deliver it. Chirazi’s official title is program manager for the Clean Tech Initiative for the city of San Diego. A long-term objective in his portfolio of efforts is making San Diego more EV-user friendly. One such current project is the installation of added EV charging stations at key, convenient locations around San Diego, constructed on city property or on city streets.

The Uptown area is scheduled for installation of EV chargers in two new street locations, as Chirazi’s project unfolds. Three new charging units are slated for 36th Street, north of Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. Two more dual-port charger units are set to be built near the intersection of Normal Street and University Avenue in Hillcrest.

The Normal Heights Community Planning Group voted unanimously March 3 to approve the 36th Street installation, after hearing a presentation from Chirazi on the project’s plans and timelines. Uptown Planners, also known as the Uptown Community Planning Group, received an updated briefing that same evening from Chirazi on the Hillcrest chargers. The only points of concern raised by attendees at the planning group meetings dealt with possible loss of open street parking spots and equality of access to the chargers for both EV owners and members of the EV-car-sharing business car2go.

These proposed new installations are supported by a grant of nearly $500,000 from the state of California, which was accepted and approved by San Diego’s City Council in mid-2014. This money from the California Energy Commission was intended to pay for as many as 41 new EV chargers in the city.

San Diego has the highest per capita rate of plug-in vehicle ownership in California, standing at an estimate of more than 11,000 San Diegans owning electrically-powered cars. San Diego’s fleet of EVs ranks fourth highest in the nation. The Energy Commission grant was provided because city and state officials agree, though, that the region still has a significant shortage of EV charging ports.

Over 1 million electric cars are on the nation’s roads — or could be, if driving these vehicles were more convenient, and especially so for those long-distance routes common around Southern California. EVs contribute to cleaner air and a cleaner overall environment, by running only indirectly on any pollution-causing fuels used to generate the electricity powering them.

During his presentation to the NHCPG meeting, Chirazi disclosed that the closest existing site to Uptown for city-owned property hosting EV charging is at the San Diego Zoo. The zoo site features a unique set of five solar-powered EV chargers. That earlier sun-to-EV charging port dates back to late 2012, as part of the Smart City San Diego initiative. Balboa Park hosts another 10 EV chargers at two locations. Pearson Fuels is a privately owned refueling station at 4067 El Cajon Blvd., with EV charging ports. Nearby hospital parking structures also provide a handful of privately owned chargers that anyone may use. (Other private charging units are in area residences, including one shared charger at the Kalos Apartments, 3790 Florida St.)

At all charging port locations, EV owners pay for charging up their cars. The 110-outlet trickle charger provided with every EV sold takes about 10 hours on average for full charging at a household plug. “Level 2” chargers shrink that time to three or four hours. Still, Chirazi noted that the city is seeking “destination” locations for charging unit installations, at which EV drivers typically would make an extended stay of sufficient hours to power up their cars before driving away.

Dave Mathewson of Mathewson Electric in El Cajon has a privileged perspective on electric charging infrastructure and the challenges the industry faces. He started his company a little over five years ago, after working in construction and remodeling to ensure projects would conform to the state’s energy-efficiency requirements.

His experiences had convinced him that electricity’s future as a power source lies in individual consumers’ diminishing energy needs. His company’s sustainable energy focus is the installation of chargers for EVs.

While Mathewson acknowledges that roadside refueling infrastructure to support widespread use of EV’s is “not there yet,” his assessment is that the 75 – 80 mile charge typically possible with lithium batteries will eventually reach the threshold 100-miles-per-charge level estimated to break even with capabilities of internal combustion engine-fueled cars, as market success drives down EV battery prices.

Chirazi said the initiative in San Diego was making headway.

“We really want to make sure that people understand what we are doing,” he said. “We need community support for the project, and we will be going back to the people often to work together on this.”

Initial phases of focus will be on internal departmental reviews of how to proceed. Chirazi emphasized the importance of streamlining and easing the internal process within the city’s departments, so as to facilitate more of these projects later. City-owned property will host the earliest of these upcoming EV charger installations, with city-street charger ports — like those planned for the two Uptown sites — to be installed later.

Under a city policy set in 2011, at least one EV charger at every installation must comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards. Chirazi said he will also work with the City Attorney’s office to address issues involved with putting these new EV chargers in place. The municipal code may need revisions accommodating the changes in use of street parking slots. The 36th Street site, for example, will likely require creation of a new handicapped parking space to meet that one-ADA-accessible-spot per charging station requirement. Another question remaining to be resolved is whether EV charging spots on city streets should be occupied exclusively by vehicles plugged in and actively charging.

Chirazi counsels patience as the project matures. But the future looks bright for more power to the people using public EV charging about Uptown.

—Contact B.J. Coleman at [email protected].