Hawaii Way Ahead in Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Mayor Arakawa charges up a Nissan Leaf at the new electric vehicle charging station at AAAAA Rent-A-Space in Honokowai last week. Courtesy of Gilbert & Assoc.

By Sonia Isotov

The state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism announced today that the installation of more than 200 new electric vehicle charging stations in 80 locations throughout the islands will make it the nation’s leader.

When completed, Hawaii will be the nation’s leader on a per-capita basis for public EV charging availability. The state will have one charging station for every 5,500 residents. Oregon, which has the next highest ratio, has one charger for every 10,000 residents, followed by Washington where ratio is one charger for every 11,800 residents.

“This makes owning an EV in Hawai’i a real option for regular folks. We are now the leader in charging stations per person and this will create a market for clean cars,” said Lt. Governor Brian Schatz, in a written statement.

The new, publicly accessible chargers are being installed by private companies, Kauai County and the City and County of Honolulu, which were awarded more than $2.6 million last year by DBEDT’s EV Ready Grant Program. The developers include:

• AeroVironment has 75 charging stations in the islands. The Monrovia, Calif.-based company, which began working in Hawai’i about a decade ago, also plans to install six, 480-volt fast charging stations around the state;
• Better Place launched its Hawai’i’ Charge Spots in February. The Palo Alto-based company now has about 140 charging stations on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island in operation;
• GreenCar Hawaii now has two chargers in Waikiki and plans to install others on Kauai;
• The City and County of Honolulu also plans to deploy eight chargers at several city parking facilities, including the Honolulu Zoo and Neal Blaisdell Center; and,
• Kauai County, which now has five stations online.