Highway 195 rest area eyed for charging station

On state Highway 195, just a few hills away from the Palouse Wind farm on Naff Ridge, the Horn School Rest Area has drawn Commissioner Greg Partch’s eye as a possible site for an electric car charging station.

“I think it would be good to get something over here on this side (of the state),” said Partch. “And if we could put it there to spotlight renewable energy and tie it into the wind farm.”

Partch Tuesday hosted a conference call on the potential for putting a charging station at the rest area south of Rosalia on 195.

“It’s just a logical spot, given its proximity to the wind farm,” said Ben Fairbanks, Northwest business development manager for First Wind, the company now constructing the Palouse Wind farm.

Doug Flansburg of Palouse, who owns a Nissan Leaf electric car, said a charging station at the Horn School stop would allow him to take his car to Spokane, which does not yet have any public charging stations.

The Leaf has a 100-mile range, he said. That does not get him from his home at Palouse to Spokane and back. The Horn School station would allow him to charge on the way up, run around Spokane, and stop for a recharge on the way back home.

He admitted, though, that he would probably not have a need for the site when and if charging stations are developed in Spokane.

First Wind and Avista are planning to install interpretive kiosks at the rest stop to provide passing drivers with information about the wind farm now under construction.

Partch enlisted the help of Tonia Buell with the state Department of Transportation to look at putting a charging station at the stop.

Buell was in charge of helping establish nine charging stations on Interstate 5 and U.S. Highway 2 in western Washington, including two at rest stops on I-5 at the north and south entrances of the state.

Buell said legislation requires the DOT put charging stations at rest areas where applicable. However, that bill came without any funding.

Further complicating matters are restrictions from federal highway authorities that forbid safety rest stops like the Horn School rest stop from providing services that would compete with private business.

“We definitely want to see if this is something that is feasible,” said Buell.

She asked how many electric cars are owned in the Spokane-to-Pullman market, wondering how much a charging station at the rest stop would be used.

“We want to make sure this is going to be a good investment, and not just going to sit there collecting dust,” said Buell.

Flansburg said his dealer, Jaremko Nissan, told him six months ago they had sold 17 Leafs and were selling about two or three a month.

The charging stations set up on I-5 and Highway 2 provide 220-volt charging lines. Flansburg said those take anywhere from four to six hours to charge a car’s battery.

“Really, I can’t see where there would be any value in having a 220-charger there,” said Flansburg.

Another option is the 440-volt fast charge system that can fill a car’s battery in about a half-hour. The Nissan Leaf is one of just two models that can be plugged into the 440-volt high-speed charge line.

Partch also asked Paul Kimmell, regional manager for Avista, the company contracted to buy power from the Palouse Wind farm, about teaming up with First Wind to set up the Horn School station.

Kimmell said he has had preliminary talks with Inland Power & Light about the station. Inland provides electricity to the rest stop.

He was unsure if the facility could accommodate a 440-volt charging station.