Today?s affordable electric cars make great sense for cheap (and in most places, relatively clean) commuting: There?s enough driving range to cover the average American commuter distance, and then some. But if the open road even sometimes beckons, beware: If you?re lucky enough to find a Level 2 (240V) charger, you?ll be up and running again in a matter of hours. Otherwise it?s down to haggling for an extension cord and facing a very long overnight stay?all to do another hour or so on the highway before the charge is gone again. What’s really needed to make EVs viable for long-distance travel is DC (Level 3) fast charging. Being able to achieve an 80-percent charge in less than a half hour, as Level 3 permits, is a game-changer. (Tesla?s Superchargers technically fall into the classification of Level 3 DC fast chargers as well, but use a Tesla-specific plug and can only be used to charge Teslas.) Enter the West Coast Electric Highway. Back in 2008, transportation officials from Washington, Oregon, California, and British Columbia had uncanny foresight, at a time when electric cars being a part of the future vehicle market was definitely not a given. They set plans in motion to install fast chargers up and down I-5, all the way from San Diego to the Canadian border, then north along Highway 99 to Vancouver B.C., with chargers spaced closely enough to permit even the shorter-range EVs on the market to make trips up and down part or all of the corridor.
Groundbreaking f...