ady has to be a screaming buy at these prices, page-23

http://www.theage.com.au/national/plan-for-electric-car-network-20081023-56zz.html

Plan for electric car network
Mex Cooper
October 23, 2008 - 12:27PM

Australia will become the third country in the world to have an electric car network in a bid to run the country's 15 million cars on batteries powered by green energy under a plan announced today.

- Battery stations proposed
- Charging network planned
- Green energy push

In a deal unveiled in Melbourne, international company Better Place will team up with AGL Energy and Macquarie Capital Group to set up a network of "charging spots" and "battery exchange stations" to power electric vehicles in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

Better Place aims to roll out electric car networks that allow zero emission vehicles to run on clean energy grids to reduce the planet's reliance on oil.

Earlier this year, Denmark and Israel undertook to establish the world's first electric car networks.

Better Place chief executive officer Shai Agassi said he hoped Australia would prove that the company's model for electric cars could work anywhere.

Under the plan, charging spots, to top up batteries, would be located in places where cars park, including home garages, shopping centres and office carparks.

The charging spots, which would look like parking meters, would provide cables to connect batteries to a green energy grid, for which AGL Energy will provide power from renewable sources including hydro and wind.

On the outskirts of city centres and on freeways, "battery switching stations" would exist for trips longer than 161 kilometres.

A driver would pull up to a switching station and replace the car's battery before continuing on their journey, similar to filling up the tank at a petrol station, according to Mr Agassi.

Mr Agassi said the first step was to build the infrastructure while the company was dealing with car manufacturers to produce the battery-run cars