67 New EV Chargers Will Be Installed In San Diego

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About six months ago, it was announced that 750 to 800 public EV chargers would be installed in San Diego. Another announcement was made yesterday about installing 67 public EV chargers.

The locations will be:

• Azalea Recreation Center
• Dolores Magdaleno Memorial Recreation Center
• Linda Vista Recreation Center
• Valencia Park/Malcom X Library
• Robert Egger Sr. South Bay Recreation Center
• San Ysidro Larsen Field Community Center
• Skyline Hills Library
• Skyline Hills Recreation Center
• Southcrest Recreation Center.

“This is an exciting step forward for the city’s EV charging program, which will make driving non-polluting electric vehicles more convenient than ever. This grant funding will enable us to move toward a cleaner, healthier future for San Diego, at no cost to the city,” said Heather Werner, deputy director of the Energy Division of the city’s General Services Department.

When EV chargers are installed in public places, specifically at libraries, recreation centers, and community centers, they are usually, but not always, Level 2 chargers which provide about 30-40 miles per hour of charging. Generally, EV drivers who frequent such sites will spend enough time at them to receive a meaningful charge if they choose to charge. About 80% of EV charging happens at home, and modern EVs typically have enough range to drive to a destination within a certain area and return home without needing an additional charge. Some drivers may find it reassuring to add some electrons while they are in a public library or exercising at a rec center or attending a meeting at a community center.

Some people wrongly believe an EV needs 700 miles of range when in fact all that is needed is about 200-300 miles for most driving — especially if there are enough public EV chargers, including fast chargers for long-distance trips.

For driving in and around San Diego, 200-300 miles per charge would be more than sufficient. Again, more and more public EV chargers are being installed in San Diego, which means the distance between chargers is gradually shrinking. Eventually, there may be a public charger every 25 miles or perhaps less.

About 4 weeks ago, the EV charger network EvGO announced it had installed 28 new fast chargers in San Diego, not far from the coast. Little-by-little EV charging networks are growing and will replace gas stations eventually. San Diego has over 2,700 EV chargers according to Plugshare.

The state of California is by far the largest EV market in the United States.