I-Go Eyes Evanston Parking Lots for Solar-Powered Electric Car Rental Stations

Representatives for I-Go, a Chicago-based nonprofit car sharing company, pitched the plan to Evanstons Transportation and Parking Committee at the groups Wednesday night meeting.

I-Go, like other car sharing programs, allows members to reserve cars at unmanned rental stations that are often single, sign-marked parking spaces located in the lots of frequented stores and other high-traffic destinations. Members pick up and drop off a vehicle at its singular home location, unlock the car with their membership cards and the vehicle tracks the length of the journey, charging the customers linked-up credit card accordingly.

Currently, there are seven I-Go rental stations in Evanston, most of which sit nearby Metra or CTA stations. While some of the companys Evanston vehicles use hybrid technology, none are electric.

I-Gos interest in Evanston is only part of a larger plan to build 18 solar-canopy car rental stations for 36 electric cars in the Chicagoland area by the end of the year. Jonathan Goldman, I-Go electric vehicle project manager, said that when the project is completed, the company will lay claim to the largest electric vehicle fleet in Illinois and the highest use of solar power energy for electric vehicle charging in the country.

This allows us to do completely clean vehicle transportation, Goldman said. There are some skeptics who say, Well, electric cars. Yeah thats great, but the power is coming from coal fired power plants. Youre just shifting one source of pollution for another. Not so with what were doing. Its going to be completely clean straight down the line.

Potential Evanston solar canopy locations proposed at Wednesdays meeting include the Evanston Public Librarys Main Branch outdoor parking lot and a parking lot near the intersection of Central Street and Stewart Avenue, three blocks west of the Central Street Metra station.

The canopy would take up four conventional parking spaces to ensure the solar panel on top is large enough to charge two cars and will be constructed away from buildings that could potentially block sunlight. It would be hooked into the electric grid, feeding power to ComEd while using a net metering system to measure the total amount of electricity produced and used at the station (I-Go representatives said they hope these amounts will balance to a zero sum).

Each station will be capable of creating an average of 30 to 35 kilowatt hours per day. Goldman said the electric cars the company will purchase, like the Nissan LEAF and Mitsubishi MiEv, have a 20 kilowatt battery, meaning the stations would be able to charge a car and a half per day.

Though the solar canopy spans four parking spaces, I-Go will only require two to operate. However for Evanstons two proposed new rental stations, the company is pitching a partnership with 350 Green LLC, a San Diego-based company that would install, own, operate and maintain two separate charging stations per canopy, available to anyone looking to charge an electric car. The City of Chicago awarded a $1.9 million contract to 350 Green to install 280 electric vehicle charging stations in the Chicagoland area by the end of 2011, and Evanstons four proposed stations would count toward this goal.

I-Go representatives said that while the company currently has near $2.5 million to meet its aim of building 18 solar powered charging stations by years end, some of its federal funding will expire at that time, as well. And as it can take two to three months to complete construction of a solar canopy, Evanston officials will be forced to make a decision quickly, before the option disappears.

The Transportation and Parking Committee lacked a quorum at Wednesdays meeting and could not vote to recommend the proposal to the Administration & Public Works Committee as it normally would. However, to save time, the Transportation and Parking Committee bypassed normal procedures and forwarded the proposal without recommendation.

The next Administration & Public Works Committee meeting is scheduled for Sept. 12, about an hour before a City Council meeting, meaning the proposal could both receive a recommendation and head to City Council for approval in one night.

The I-Go solar canopies would be built at no cost to the City of Evanston, and I-Go would pay the city a fee for building on public parking spaces.

I-Go members must be between 18 and 81, have a valid Illinois drivers license, have no major moving violations and no more than two minor violations listed on their driving record for the past three years, and must link a valid credit card to their membership card.

According to I-Go representatives, the company has 15,000 members and 220 cars in the Chicagoland area.