PGE debuts quick-charge station for electric vehicles

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Portland General Electric Co. on Thursday unveiled North America’s first quick-charge electric vehicle charging station available for public use.

The device, which can charge an electric vehicle’s battery to 80 percent capacity within 20 to 30 minutes, was manufactured by Takasago Ltd., a subsidiary of Japanese network technology firm NEC Corp.

The installation of the advanced charging station in Portland, Gov. Ted Kulongoski said, continues Oregon’s leadership in ushering the nation into the era of electric vehicles.

Portland "is an icon in this country for electric vehicles," Kulongoski said during a news conference in the underground parking garage of Portland’s World Trade Center at 121 SW Salmon St., where the charging station is located.

Powered by lithium-ion batteries, the Takasago Rapid Charging Station is a marked upgrade from the charging stations posted on the street outside the World Trade Center, where a 110-volt station can take 8 to 12 hours to fully charge and a 220-volt station can take 4 to 8 hours.

The charging station was showcased while charging the new all-electric Nissan Leaf that the Japanese automaker will release later this year in Portland and handful of other markets.

Following a news conference, Kulongoski wrote a personal check for $99 to Mark Perry, director of product planning and strategy at Nissan North America, representing the governor’s down payment to reserve a spot on the priority list to receive one of the first vehicles, which will cost about $25,000 after state and federal tax credits.

The governor then got in the Leaf and took it for a spin.