Electric car charging station coming

LARGO - Forget fuel, goodbye gas guzzlers— the Bay Area is about to get plugged in.

Ron Phillips works with Solar Source in Largo. He's getting ready to install a public charging unit for electric cars.

"Cars plug in and then the door closes and it dispenses electricity to the car," Phillips said.

The unit he plans to install is called the " Charge Point".

"It's awesome because it will be the first one in the state and we'll be on a national network," Phillips said, adding it will be installed outside the company's store on Endeavour Way.

It will work similar to a gas pump. You'll pull up, pay but instead of pumping. you'll start charging.

"Right now people say where are the electric cars? They are not here yet, but they are going to be here," Phillips said.

He says big name car makers like Nissan and Chevrolet are getting ready to roll out thousands of new electric cars, some coming to Florida by the end of next year.

"I'll be able to drive around for two weeks on one charge," Phillips said. "No gas. All electric."

Solar Source says eventually you'll see car chargers at places like malls, hotels and apartment complexes— anywhere that you might need to charge up and get back on the road.

Most cars will get you about a hundred miles on a full battery charge. For now it is a slow process. A dead battery will take up to four hours to fully charge, but the savings in cost will be substantial.

"The typical charge for four hours is 4 kilowatts that's about 12 cents a kilowatt," Phillips said.

He says down the road we may start seeing solar charging stations, ways to keep us moving fuel free.