Google Maps Will Help Pinpoint Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Thinking about buying an electric car?  Worried about finding places to recharge it?

Google Maps to help you locate Electric Vehicle recharging stations (image by Adventures of Pam & Frank on Flickr)

In a partnership with the Obama administration to boost sales of EVs, Google maps will help pinpoint electric vehicle charging stations.  In fact, President Obama aims to get 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015, with an overall goal of slashing oil imports by 1/2 in the next 15 years.

This is just the news we need as the average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. topped $4 this week.  Consumers across the country are considering plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and 100% electric cars to avoid shelling out at the pump.

Google Maps and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory will together provide consumers with consistent, up-to-date locations of electric vehicle charging stations.  Whether along highways in Washington State, or throughout Southern California, you can rely on Google to show you where you can rapidly recharge your electric car.

An online network of recharging stations across the U.S. is being coordinated by Google Maps and will serve as the primary data source for GPS and mapping services tracking these locations.  This effort dovetails with the $5 million in EV funding announced by the Department of Energy earlier this year.

Local government and private companies will also work together to continue building electric car charging stations and other infrastructure necessary to help consumers successfully transition from the pump to the plug.