Electric Vehicles

Eleven new electric vehicle charging stations will debut in Burbank this week, and until July 1, motorists will get to plug in for free. After the “holiday rate” - approved by the Burbank City Council this week - the price to charge a vehicle will be $2 per hour. But any other charging stations that come online after January will also feature a six-month grace period, according to the city. Burbank Water and Power officials settled on the $2 rate after surveying similar pricing across Southern California, but that could change during the three-year demonstration project funded partly by a $61,000 grant from the California Department of Energy.

The first 100 people to buy an electric vehicle will get a $200 rebate from the city in exchange for installing a special socket that will help measure the potential impact of more cars tapping into the power grid. As plug-in electric vehicles become more popular, officials want to be prepared for the influx of energy use, so it's requiring all electric-vehicle owners to install a special socket that will measure the effect on the power supply, said Ned Bassin, assistant general manager of customer and support services at Glendale Water & Power.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Verdugo Park was a virtual test track Wednesday, as a noiseless fleet of electric cars glided over park roads. The event, held by Glendale-based Environmental Motors, unveiled what organizers called a “new generation” of cost- and fuel-efficient vehicles, designed for 25- to 40-mile trips. “They’re catching on, especially in light of rising gas prices,” said Joe Caracciolo, general manager for Environmental Motors. “If you want something for in-city use, these are perfect.

The concept of driving an electric car used to excite Richard Bardowell about as much as the idea of commuting to work in a golf cart. It wasn’t high on his list of things to do. But that was before the Glendale resident got his first glimpse of the Mini E, an electric version of the popular, small and quirky Mini Cooper from German automaker BMW. He was at the Los Angeles Auto Show when he saw it, and now, a year later, acknowledges his...

GLENDALE — City employees are turning off lights, drinking room-temperature fountain water and changing their hours in an effort to save $600,000 this fiscal year. “If you look at the economy as a whole right now, we all have to do our part to make sure that we are doing everything possible to bring in a balanced budget, [which is] No. 1 for the city of Glendale, and to do what is right for the community, and that includes tightening our belts wherever possible,” Deputy City Manager Yasmin Beers said.

GLENDALE — A small automotive dealer in southeast Glendale is leading a coalition seeking to create a new federal classification for its all-electric vehicles that would allow the cars to drive faster on city streets. Environmental Motors, which sells the diminutive electrical cars under the ZAP and ZENN brand names, has filed a petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to allow the latest models to be manufactured and delivered with the ability to travel up to 35 mph. Currently, the ZENN models are already capable of speeds of up to 40 mph, but are electronically capped at 25 mph under federal regulations that classify them as “low-speed vehicles.

The dawn of the electric car age may be just around the corner. In the coming weeks local dealerships expect to show off their first all-electric Chevy Volts and Nissan Leafs. The vehicles will roll off production lines just as the auto market is climbing out of the doldrums. On Monday, the federal government reported that car sales nationwide rose 14.7% in October compared with the same time a year ago, and are up 5% compared with September. The all-electric vehicles are not on the road today.

CITY HALL — The Department of Energy announced Tuesday that Glendale and Burbank will each receive $20 million to help fund the installation of smart meters that track real-time water and electricity usage. Burbank and Glendale were the only cities in Los Angeles County to receive a share of the $3.4 billion in stimulus funding that President Obama on Tuesday said would support similar smart grid and other energy efficiency programs nationwide. The federal windfall would make up a large portion of the estimated $28-million cost of the electric component of Glendale Water & Power’s smart grid plan, which is estimated to come in at about $35 million for the system development and meter installation, officials said.

DOWNTOWN — While dozens of Glendale residents on Saturday cast aside unwanted appliances at an electronics recycling program at Grandview Presbyterian Church, the city’s green movement was hit with a tinge of populism. The drive-through collection program may have drawn about 100 motorists discarding more than 5,000 pounds in mobile phones, televisions and computers, but those attending a small meeting at Shakers Restaurant were busy laying the groundwork for a drive that would help residents shift to environmentally friendly products.

DOWNTOWN — Crowd patrol just got more high-tech with the deployment of three new stand-up electric scooters to comb through downtown sidewalks and shopping areas. The three-wheel T3Motion Personal Electric Vehicles, or PEVs, will be assigned to the Downtown Policing Unit — which monitors the Glendale Galleria, Marketplace, Exchange and upcoming Americana on Brand — as a way to make patrolling more efficient for the areas that officers have so far policed mostly on foot or bicycle, officials said.

Eleven new electric vehicle charging stations will debut in Burbank this week, and until July 1, motorists will get to plug in for free. After the “holiday rate” - approved by the Burbank City Council this week - the price to charge a vehicle will be $2 per hour. But any other charging stations that come online after January will also feature a six-month grace period, according to the city. Burbank Water and Power officials settled on the $2 rate after surveying similar pricing across Southern California, but that could change during the three-year demonstration project funded partly by a $61,000 grant from the California Department of Energy.

The first 100 people to buy an electric vehicle will get a $200 rebate from the city in exchange for installing a special socket that will help measure the potential impact of more cars tapping into the power grid. As plug-in electric vehicles become more popular, officials want to be prepared for the influx of energy use, so it's requiring all electric-vehicle owners to install a special socket that will measure the effect on the power supply, said Ned Bassin, assistant general manager of customer and support services at Glendale Water & Power.

The concept of driving an electric car used to excite Richard Bardowell about as much as the idea of commuting to work in a golf cart. It wasn’t high on his list of things to do. But that was before the Glendale resident got his first glimpse of the Mini E, an electric version of the popular, small and quirky Mini Cooper from German automaker BMW. He was at the Los Angeles Auto Show when he saw it, and now, a year later, acknowledges his...

GLENDALE — City employees are turning off lights, drinking room-temperature fountain water and changing their hours in an effort to save $600,000 this fiscal year. “If you look at the economy as a whole right now, we all have to do our part to make sure that we are doing everything possible to bring in a balanced budget, [which is] No. 1 for the city of Glendale, and to do what is right for the community, and that includes tightening our belts wherever possible,” Deputy City Manager Yasmin Beers said.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Verdugo Park was a virtual test track Wednesday, as a noiseless fleet of electric cars glided over park roads. The event, held by Glendale-based Environmental Motors, unveiled what organizers called a “new generation” of cost- and fuel-efficient vehicles, designed for 25- to 40-mile trips. “They’re catching on, especially in light of rising gas prices,” said Joe Caracciolo, general manager for Environmental Motors. “If you want something for in-city use, these are perfect.