Low on Electric? There's an App for That

Charging infrastructure is in its infancy. And one argument critics of electric vehicles latch on to is range. Well, PlugShare is putting some of that anxiety to rest with this free app that acts as a social network of EV-charging locations. Impressive. It seems like this concept could really take off. I can envision this app providing an option for drivers in search of energy sources from solar panels and turbines.

This mobile approach is probably just the beginning for the nascent EV online community. Resources like this app will probably multiply and improve as a viable tool as the number of EV and plug-in hybrid drivers climb. Via TechCrunch:

The company will compete, if not directly, with the likes of Coulomb Technologies and Ecotality, companies that build and install EV charging station networks, and which both offer apps mapping their installed base of charging stations, The EV Project and MyChargePoint.net, respectively.

Since we're on the topic, the Sierra Club's EV campaign launched last week. Get involved and tell President Obama to follow through on the pledge he made in the State of the Union, to get one million EVs on the road by 2015. When we get 50,000 messages, the Sierra Club will deliver them to the White House in an EV.

-- Brian Foley