U.S. firm to build EV chargers in Jerusalem
About 100 charging stations will be placed on Jerusalem streets by 2011, when Israel plans to have electric cars available for mass consumption, Shai Agassi, CEO of Better Place, said. Twenty of the stations have already been placed.
At a ceremony where he signed the agreement with Israeli officials, Agassi said a transition to greener means of transportation could make for cleaner air, and called Israel "a leader in the road to sustainable mobility."
Electric car batteries used in Israel will have a range of 160-200 km (100-125 miles), sufficient to cover the distances among most of the small country's main urban centers. They would take 3-4 hours to charge, Better Place said in a statement.
Israel regards Jerusalem as its indivisible capital, including the eastern sector it captured in a 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians want the city as capital of a future state.
Better Place, a $200-million venture-backed company, is in an early stage, testing charge spots in Israel with plans to follow in Denmark, and is working with Renault and Nissan to develop electric car infrastructure.
The firm has also announced partnerships with Australia, California and Hawaii, worth about $2 billion in total, to expand its network in the coming years as markets search for alternatives to cut carbon emissions and pricey fuel imports.
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Manitoba looking to raise electricity rates 2.5 per cent each year for 3 years
WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government is planning to raise electricity rates by 2.5 per cent a year over the next three years.
Finance Minister Scott Fielding says the increases, to be presented in a bill before the legislature, are the lowest in a decade and will help keep rates among the lowest in Canada.
Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro had asked for a 3.5 per cent increase this year to help pay off billions of dollars in debt.
“The way we figured this out, we looked at the rate increases that were approved by PUB (Public Utilities Board) over the last ten years, (and) we…
