by Todd Woody.

An electric car charging station next to a gas station in Lake Oswego, Ore.Photo: Todd Mecklem

First Chicago gets Rahm Emanuel, now electric cars.

Well, at least an electric car infrastructure. In a move that indicates electric cars won’t just be a phenomenon of Greater
Portlandia, utility Exelon and the city will roll out 280 charging stations
across Chicagoland by year’s end. Two stations will even be solar-powered.

It’s part of a smart grid demonstration project, partially
funded by the federal government, to get a jump-start on the potential impact
on the electric system if Chicagoans start buying battery-powered vehicles in
big numbers.

Windy, snow-swept Chicago doesn’t exactly pop to the top
of the list as an EV epicenter. But former Mayor Richard M. Daley made greening
the second city a priority, and according to a spokesperson for Exelon—which
owns Chicago utility ComEd—Illinois ranks in the top 10 when it comes to
hybrid car ownership.

“ComEd is preparing now for what may be a large influx of
PHEVs in the market and managing its impact on the grid,” Kerry Kelly-Guiliano, the Exelon
spokesperson, said in an email, referring to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
“And they are putting in place the charging infrastructure to demonstrate that
Chicago is plug-in ready.”

The locations for
the charging stations have yet to be determined, but Kelly-Guiliano said they would
most likely be deployed at places like shopping malls, Chicago’s two airports,
and rest stops along the Illinois Tollway in the city.

Chicago follows
another unlikely hot spot for electric cars, the petro capital of Houston. Late
last year, utility NRG Energy announced
plans to build a $10 million electric charging network in a 25-mile radius
surrounding downtown Houston.

Initially, Chicago’s
electric charging network will be used by a fleet of electric and hybrid cars
maintained by ComEd.

Now we just want to
see Mayor Emanuel behind the wheel of a Chevy Volt.