The Problem of Finding Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Just Got Sunnier

The approach most cities take toward electric car charging can charitably be described as helter-skelter. With little data on where and when people need to juice their jalopies, local governments and businesses have spent millions of dollars to install chargers in the hope that if they build it, drivers will come.

And so in California, where Tesla Motors' Model S electric sports sedan outsells high-end Mercedes and BMWs, you might find chargers at a random Whole Foods in Berkeley, a cluster of them in San Francisco's financial district, or in places scattered around Santa Monica. Deploying charging stations typically involves navigating layers of bureaucratic red tape, dealing with the local utility company, and persuading business owners to hand over a piece of their real estate. It's a tough business — witness the bankruptcy last year of Ecotality, one of the biggest electric charging companies in the United States.