BP's Plan in Hawaii

After coming up grossly unsatisfied by the many explanations of Better Place’s electric car plan, I think I finally understand. There was a great article on the company that ran in Wired magazine several months back—though it too left some questions unanswered. The Better Place website has a lot of information, but it is cloaked in a lot of jargon. In the most simple language I can muster, here is their plan:

 

Within the next three years, the Silicon Valley-based company Better Places will begin selling electric cars in Hawaii. The cars which will cost about as much as other gas-powered cars will be able to go 100 miles on a full charge. In terms of speed and accelerating capabilities, BP’s electric cars will have the same level of power as today’s gas-powered cars. Drivers of the electric car will be able to recharge their batteries at home and at recharging stations. However, it sounds like even charging at home will require one of BP’s special recharging stations. I say this because the Advertiser reported that “Better Place envisions…50,000 to 100,000 charge outlets that resemble parking meters [to] be placed at homes, shopping centers, workplaces and street parking spaces”. In addition to recharging stations, there will also be battery-changing stations where, in three minutes flat, one’s electric car battery will be swapped with a brand new battery. Better Places plans to outfit each car with software that tells drivers where the next recharging station is so that the driver will never be in peril of running of out electricity. The batteries, which are enormously expensive, will be owned by Better Places. Like a cell phone plan where subscribers pay for the phone and buy minutes, subscribers to Better Place’s electric car plan will purchase the car and buy miles.

 

The Better Place website boasts that their electric cars “will be quieter, cleaner (no tailpipe, no emissions), less expensive to own and operate (no fuel costs), and more reliable (less maintenance) than ICE cars.” Cleaner and quieter, I tend to believe. But less expensive and requiring less maintenance I find difficult to believe, especially since it will be a new technology that will be working out the kinks.

 

Any questions? (I say this facetiously because of course every explanation elicits at least ten new questions. The people at Better Place must be so sick of explaining their plan.)

For a fun video on the EV in Hawaii, click here.