One major key to EV adoption is creating a comprehensive charging network. Not only does it have to be convenient, it has to be appealing. One company is making a valiant attempt with its new gas station-like EV chargers.
EV charging company Rove is opening its first location in Santa Ana, California on October 15, KTLA reports. Rove is a company that wants to shake up EV charging by doing something that should have been done in the first place: make them like gas stations.
Rove’s charging stations are loaded with amenities for drivers to use while charging their vehicles. In addition to having room for everyone with 40 fast chargers that can be used by any brand, it offers free wifi, customer lounge and bathrooms.
A big win for people charging is an onsite convenience store complete with drinks and snacks. The downside is that the prices might be high as it’s operated by Gelson’s, a high end gourmet grocery store that’s usually in wealthier cities.
Another downside might be the charging price themselves. In the video by KTLA covering the charging station, you can see that a customer was charged $0.56 per kWh. That might not sit well with some as charging prices in parts of Southern California has been something many have been complaining about recently as some feel they’re too high.
Debs Schrimmer with the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation in California told KTLA that this kind of charging station bolster people’s confidence that they’ll be able to go EV without to much hassle. “By building out the public charging network, it’s giving people the confidence that they’re going to be able to charge their car and be able to get to where they need to go.” Rove plans to open it’s next too locations soon in the cities of Costa Mesa and Torrance.