Official

New White House petition wants high-speed chargers every 50 miles in US

A
Last month, a San Antonio resident started a petition to the White House asking that that fast-charging stations for plug-in cars be installed every 50 miles along the US Interstate system. The trick is, if the request is to have any a chance of being granted, fast-charging advocates will have to start signing that petition a little, uh, faster. The petition was posted on July 23 by an "R.M." from San Antonio (five of the ensuing six signatures were also from that city, so we're guessing there may be friends involved), but as of Friday morning, just 114 people had signed up. The target, of course, is 100,000 signatures and the deadline is August 22, meaning that about 5,000 folks a day will have to join up. Hey, we're doing our part here.

Even without the petition, publicly accessible electric-vehicle charging stations are on the upswing. According to the US Energy Department, there are about 6,400 publicly accessible EV charging stations in the US, up from about 5,200 at the beginning of the year, but it's unclear how many of those are of the fast-charging variety, which can fully charge an EV like the Nissan Leaf in about a half hour. Read the petition below, and link to it here.

Earlier this year, another electric vehicle petition – this one to allow Tesla Motors to sell vehicles directly to the public – hit the 100,000 signature target. The White House has not yet responded.
Show full PR text
Create Fast Charging Network for Wide Scale Adoption of Electric Vehicles

Fast charging stations should be installed every 50 miles across the United States Interstate Highway System. These chargers will allow electric vehicles such as the Chevrolet Spark, Nissan Leaf and other vehicles to be recharged to 80% capacity in 20 to 30 minutes. This will allow drivers of electric vehicles the freedom to travel throughout the entire US without fear that they may run out of power.

There are huge societal benefits from switching to electric vehicles including reduced pollution, noise and dependence on foreign oil.

Share This Photo X