http://www.petaluma360.com/news/5035905-181/petaluma-is-fertile-ground-for?artslide=0 Petaluma is fertile ground for electric vehicles January 24, 2016 MATT BROWNARGUS-COURIER STAFF
[images http://www.petaluma360.com/csp/mediapool/sites/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=onvl0_X3icerOi4jyl2U8c$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYtbGiCXsxLvWQy4DfN4rSiNWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_CryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&CONTENTTYPE=image/jpeg Petaluman Richard Sachen charges his Electric Nissan Leaf in Petaluma on Monday, January 11. 2016. It has been 5 years since a petaluma dealership sold the first Nissan Leaf in America in 2011. (SCOTT MANCHESTER/ARGUS-COURIER STAFF) ] With little fanfare, a Petaluma auto dealer last month quietly marked an anniversary that was more notable due to its banality. North Bay Nissan celebrated five years since becoming the first dealership in the nation to sell the all-electric Leaf, which was, at the time, the first mass-marketed electric car. That the dealership on Auto Center Drive made little mention of the anniversary of the event that was highly touted in December, 2010, is a testament to how ubiquitous electric vehicles have become in the past five years in Petaluma and Sonoma County, analysts said. Once the bailiwick of tinkerers and hobbyists, electric vehicles are now as common on Petaluma’s streets as the city’s infamous potholes. Green-minded and tech-savvy drivers here have warmed up to plug-in cars as the infrastructure for charging the vehicles has permeated the city. “I think Petaluma is a hotbed for a lot of innovation, including electric vehicles,” said Doron Amiran, EV program manager for the Center for Climate Protection. “The change is coming, and Petaluma, having sold the first Leaf, should be very proud.” A report on electric vehicles in Sonoma County that Amiran’s Santa Rosa-based nonprofit released last summer showed that Petaluma had a 265 EV drivers, the second highest city behind Santa Rosa, based on figures from a state electric vehicle rebate program. The Leaf was the most pervasive with 543 on Sonoma County roads. Plug-in hybrids, like the Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius Plugin, that run primarily on batteries but have gas-powered generators to extend battery range, were also popular in the county. Today, consumers have more than a dozen electric and plug-in hybrid models to chose from, including two high-end Tesla models. Nationwide, the Leaf remains the top seller with around 90,000 units sold out of a total of 375,000 electric vehicles. Indeed early on, North Bay Nissan sought to capitalize on its status as the first Leaf dealer when Oliver Chalouhi of Redwood City drove off the lot in the first car — an event that was widely covered in the media. The Petaluma dealer sold more electric cars than any dealership in the nation in 2011, but has since lost that title to larger dealers in the Silicon Valley, according to Ron Coury, e-commerce director for North Bay Nissan. Still, he said, sales remain strong. “After five years, people have realized that electric vehicles are no passing fancy,” Coury said. “Now that people have seen them, they are more confident in electric vehicles.” A main driver of electric vehicles’ popularity is the abundance of public and private charging stations that have sprouted up around Petaluma and Sonoma County in recent years, easing the anxiety that many EV drivers have of running out of power. The Leaf goes about 90 miles on a full charge while the Tesla Model S gets upwards of 200 miles. The city of Petaluma and private developers have installed dozens of charging stations throughout the city. Powerful level 3 chargers, which can fill a battery in about 30 minutes, have been installed at North Bay Nissan, the Petaluma Village Premium Outlets and the Petaluma Visitors Center. Level 2 chargers, which take about four hours to complete a charge, were added to the Deer Creek Shopping Center and East Washington Place for drivers to plug in while they shop. The city of Petaluma has installed them at the Keller Street parking garage and Casa Grande High School among other sites. Employers like Amy’s Kitchen have added charging stations to encourage employees to drive EVs. Petaluma resident Richard Sachen was among the early adopters of the electric vehicle technology, having driven his Leaf 49,000 miles since 2012. He said having more options to plug in allows him to drive more confidently. “There are dozens of charging stations in Petaluma now,” he said. “There’s a lot more opportunity to charge your car than there were before.” Sachen is also responsible for some of the additional charging infrastructure. His startup, Pacific Coast Sun Trail, seeks to add fast EV charging station up and down the California coast along Highway 1. His first charger has been placed at Pt. Reyes Station. He is also working with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District on a grant to place six charging stations at the Redwood Business Park on North McDowell Boulevard. He said that Petaluma is a fruitful place for electric vehicles because they appeal to the ethos of a large swath of the community, which tends to be conscious about the environmental and geo-political issues surrounding the burning of fossil fuels. “Electric vehicles are clean, quiet, use less money and are great to drive,” he said. “Northern California, and especially Petaluma, is very EV friendly. 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