Hawaii is now considered the fastest growing electric vehicle charging station destination, with chargers being placed all over the islands at gas stations, convenience stores, and coffee shops, to serve the steadily increasing number of electric cars. It’s fast and free charging for now – 30 minutes at no cost at this time. The infrastructure is already there, which means new stations wouldn’t need to be built.
Earlier this month, AeroVironment and Aloha Petroleum, Ltd. unveiled Electric Vehicle (EV) DC fast chargers at three locations, two of them Aloha Island Marts and at a Shell station. For a limited time, electric vehicles equipped with a CHAdeMO fast-charging outlet, such as on the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV, can be charged for free at these Aloha stations.
CHAdeMO is short for “CHArge de Move” or “charge for moving.”: They were developed in Japan, and are being used on the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV (while other plug-in electric vehicles are being charged using different charging systems). The DC fast chargers can deliver a full charge to a nearly depleted EV battery in less than 30 minutes. “Use of electric vehicles is steadily increasing across Oahu,” noted Richard Parry, Aloha Petroleum’s president and CEO. “As our customers’ driving habits evolve, we’re proud to provide innovative, clean and reliable ways to fuel their vehicles, whether it’s gas-powered or electric.”
The Aloha Petroleum charging stations are part of the Hawaii EV Ready Grant Program, which received American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and limit Hawaii’s dependence on petroleum. As part of this program, the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism Energy Office is managing installation of 200 new EV charging stations at more than 80 locations statewide.
