Free electric car charging stations coming to B.R.

Drivers of the Nissan Leaf—an electric car that gets about 106 city-miles on a full charge—will soon get their juice for free at charging stations around Baton Rouge, says Royal Nissan owner Brad Smith. Over the next two to three months, Royal Nissan hopes to install 15 to 20 free chargers at key destinations, such as shopping centers and downtown. “We are very excited to be such a large part of creating a better environment and moving Baton Rouge to the forefront of environmentally friendly cities,” Smith says. Royal Nissan has allocated $100,000 for charging stations and is currently negotiating with local businesses on locations and charger-types they can provide. Chargers range from $3,000 to $9,000 in cost, while a typical 220-volt charger—which can provide a full charge in about two hours—costs about $5,000, says Smith. The stations will be ideal for shoppers who were “already 75% capacity and they’re full when the come back out,” Smith says. Before this summer, Nissan Leafs were only available through preorder. But now that they’re on dealership lots, Royal Nissan says Baton Rouge is the No. 1 city in Louisiana for the electric car sales. “We’ve sold nine or 10, and it’s only been out three months,” Smith says. Royal Nissan currently has 10 Leafs for sale and aims to have as many as 50 on the road by the end of the year, Smith says. —Adam Pearson