China planning electric vehicle charging stations

China is rushing in to build its own network of electric charging stations. Xinhua, the government's official newspaper, announced last week that the State Grid Corporation, the world's largest electric power transmission and distribution company, is speeding up its plans to build electric car charging stations.

The stations will be located in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and other large cities.

The power charging stations will be built as a pilot project to initially serve electric buses and sedans in a trial run, with plans to eventually cover the entire nation. Each station will cost the equivalent of about $37,000 to $44,000.

The country showcased its charging station network during the 2008 Beijing Olympics last month, during which it supplied power to 600 electric vehicles including 55 buses powered by electric-lithium-cells. 

China hopes to bring in 10,000 fuel cell, electric and hybrid cars as well as infrastructure to power the vehicles in 10 chosen cities around the country within two years, according to the ministry of science and technology.

The experiment will help the government agencies work out policies for developing more new energy cars, says Wan Gan, the country's minister of science and technology. The minister hopes that within five years, alternative energy vehicles will account for one in every ten producted in China.

Via: Autoblog Green and China Daily