The Next Big: Electric Idea

Imagine driving down I-95 when your car is about to run out of juice. You get off at the next exit and, instead of filling up, you plug in. That will soon be possible, thanks to more than $500,000 in stimulus funds being used to install 55 car-charging stations along the interstate and nine more in Baltimore parking garages—which would make Baltimore a leading city in the electric car movement. “The biggest question in terms of electric vehicle readiness is about the infrastructure,” says Jill Sorensen, executive director of the Baltimore Electric Vehicle Initiative (BEVI). “These stations are the backbone to get the public ready.” Sorensen says it will take about four hours to recharge a vehicle at one of the new stations, which will be installed by the end of 2010. This is one of the first steps in the transition from petroleum vehicles to electric ones, which produce zero vehicle emissions and are fueled for one-quarter of the price of gas. BEVI wants drivers to be prepared. “We’re on the brink of something here,” says Sorensen. “And Maryland is very progressive for recognizing that.”