Students at the University of Oregon might be wondering about what looks like new gas pumps on a campus street. Those aren't gas pumps though, they are quick charging stations for electric vehicle's. They're being released on a section of street on Southwest Montgomery and his been dubbed Electric Avenue. The chargers were manufactured and installed by company Kanematsu and are a joint project by the University, The City and Portland General Electric to discover the effect of charging electric vehicles on the electrical grid. The charger gathers and stores electricity in off-peak hours and releases the energy when the EVs plugin. The pricing is equivalent to 30 using 50 kilowatts during peak hours. The study will extend two years while those involved develop how to move forward with equipping a 21st century power grid in the city and beyond. similar experiments are being conducted around the nation and the rest of the world.
