An electric recharging station is going to be added to the affluent suburb of Lake Oswego in Oregon.  Local leaders believe that adding this station downtown will draw people into the area.  Portland General Electric will be working with the city in hopes of creating a network of similar stations.

At the moment, there are only 270 electric cars that are registered in Oregon, but with cars like the Chevy Volt, and electric Toyota, Chrysler, and Ford vehicles; stations like these may become more common.  It hasn’t been mentioned whether it will be free to charge, but the electricity is being supplied by renewable sources, although the specific type- solar, wind, etc. isn’t stated.

The main drawback is that charging a vehicle with electricity takes a lot of time.  For instance, GM claims that it will take the Chevy Volt about four hours to recharge with a high-voltage outlet.  Ideally, stations such as these would be placed near local businesses where commuters could recharge their cars during their workday.

Unfortunately, electric charging stations aren’t available anywhere else in the U.S., so people are apprehensive to purchase these cars for fear that they will end up calling for emergency roadside assistance when their car dies.