MORE JOLTS FROM BUFFALO GRILLE COFFEE Now in the H-E-B Buffalo Market parking lot at Buffalo Speedway and Bissonnet, on the site of what used to be the Buffalo Grille: the first in a network of eVgo electric vehicle charging stations to be planted in parking lots around the city. The plug-in spots are right near what used to be the coffee serving area, notes Chronicle energy reporter Tom Fowler. Opening in the next couple of weeks: stations near NRG’s headquarters at the Shops at Houston Center downtown, and in front of 2 Walgreens: at 19710 Holzwarth St. and 8942 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. North. 25 of the Houston-area stations, featuring both 240-volt and the faster 480-volt chargers, are scheduled to open by the end of the year. [Fuel Fix; previously on Swamplot]
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Sounds like good, close in parking for my Yukon Denali! There won’t be anyone else using these parking spots!
lol luckily they put the charging station as far away from the store as possible.
Waste of money and parking spots.
At least something useful will go in that spot. I pass that HEB everyday and rarely ever see a car parked in that area … which only reinforces my disdain for HEB for knocking down the old Buffalo Grille.
agreed, raise gas taxes by a buck and get this over with. we’re just now getting small cars to move back to diesel engines and i don’t see anyone even talking about the possibility of an electric truck.
I thought the charging stations were a joke, but have actually seen them used at Whole Foods on Waugh a fair number of times. Plug ins and electric only hybrids are just hitting the market. People are buying them and more manufacturers are moving into the market (Volvo V60 plug in looks pretty neat). I actually think in a few years we will be complaining about the lack of charging stations rather than looking at this like it was a failed left-wing hippie crusade.
eh, I”ll just park my truck on top of whatever Matchbox car is plugged in….
I’ve already placed a deposit for my Mitsubishi i-MiEV. I’ve been talking with the EvGO people for several months now, and I’m ecstatic that these stations are finally going up.
@exponent: I can’t wait to see you park your monstrosity there either. I love having people like you towed.
If these things keep getting more popular we better start building a lot of power plants real fast. If not then driving an electric car and running the A/C in your house is going get very expensive.
The EPA’s new CSAPR will shut down several power plants in Texas even though there is a distinct possibility of rolling blackouts next summer without any shut-in plants. We can’t both be shutting down coal plants and adding electric vehicles.
I will buy the Tesla Model S as soon as it’s available next year (hopefully), the one with 300 mile range per charge. But I would have to burn down several endangered redwoods and club at least 100 baby seals to re-offset my footprint.
These electric vehicles will not put a large strain on the grid. A majority of charging will take place at night when electricity demand is low. These charging stations are more to help reduce “range anxiety” of EV owners (in turn increasing the pool for more EV owners) In fact, one could potentially use their EV vehicle battery storage as a power source to offset their electricity usage during peaks. I’m still not sure if they will take off or not, 2012 will be the year that lets us know.
Electricity isn’t free no matter when you generate it. Maybe we won’t have to double our number of power plants overnight but the ones we have will use a lot more fuel and wear out much faster. They’ll have to be replaced. There is no free lunch. All this will happen as we are virtually outlawing coal as a power source. Let’s just hope the feds don’t make up some phony reason to outlaw fracking too. I really don’t care what fuel I use to get myself from point a to point b as long as it doesn’t hit me in the pocketbook.
That intersection has changed a lot. I used to work at Jack Roach Ford which was where the Walgreens and Smashburger are. I lived in the apartments where the Kroger is. These were cool 2 story brick 1940s apartments, and the streets were lined with big oak trees. Some are still there in the Kroger parking lot. We used to go to Luby’s a cool mod building, and to the pharmacy lunch counter in the same strip as the Buffalo grille. Drink beers along side of the Stop and Go and talk about life and cause no trouble. If you ask me, the area was prettier back then. Walkable and great neighbors.
Jgriff,
No it’s not free, but if it doesn’t add to the demand curve (peaks) who cares, the plants are already running. Using electric cars to flatten the demand curve (by accessing their stored energy during peaks) could DECREASE the OVERALL amount of fuel needed for electricity production. The new trend in the upcoming future is going to be Production Behind the Meter. Solar/Wind/Geothermal etc. every $.01 per kw/h electricity price increases it makes these methods even more cost effective.