Electric Car Charging Station at Shelby Farms Park

From today's Commercial Appeal...

MLGW official favors electric car charging station at Shelby Farms Park

Richard H. Bowker says he'd like to see a solar-powered charging station for electric vehicles in Shelby Farms Park, possibly near Patriot Lake.

Bowker, who is Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division's point man on electric-vehicle issues, says the decision will be up to the Tennessee Valley Authority.

"I told TVA that I think this is absolutely the best place," he said, adding that he likes the location because it would have educational value -- it's an area that attracts many bikers, joggers and other active types who might be interested in electric cars.

He said an agency representative has indicated that the organization will make a decision within 12 months.

The charging station would have six covered parking spaces with solar panels on a roof and could also be powered by MLGW's electricity-distribution grid, he said.

A similar station unveiled in Knoxville in January can make electricity from sunlight, store electricity and put electricity back in the power grid when needed, TVA said in a news release.

The equipment is related to the EV Project, a federally backed effort to build infrastructure for electric cars and study how people use them. Officials recently said that Memphis would be included.

Bowker said that by September, the Memphis area will have publicly accessible charging stations capable of handling 40 to 50 vehicles. There will also be some charging stations for private use.

Electric vehicles are currently rare and difficult to obtain. As of several weeks ago, people in the Memphis area had placed 45 orders for the Nissan Leaf, the only commercially available all-electric vehicle in the state, Bowker said.

The idea of placing the electric-vehicle charging station at Shelby Farms is still very preliminary.

Bowker says he hasn't talked about it with the people who run the sprawling park in East Memphis, though he has brought it to the attention of MLGW board member Rick Masson, former head of the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, which runs the park.

"I think it's a good fit because it's centrally located," Masson said.

Bowker also mentioned other possible locations for charging stations, including BP gas stations and parking spaces outside MLGW's headquarters near FedExForum in Downtown Memphis.