New EV Stations Now Ready for Charging Up in Southern Santa Barbara County

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - The way electric vehicle owners are charging their cars is getting more convenient and packed with energy.

This month, 20 more stations came on line in Santa Barbara.  The Electrify America company opened a new large-format electric vehicle (EV) charging station at the corner of Carrillo St. and Chapala St. It expands access to fast, seamless and convenient EV charging in the city's downtown core.

It is at the site of the former Greyhound Bus depot at 36 West Carrillo Street. The station offers 20 Hyper-Fast chargers. Each charger is capable of speeds up to 350 kilowatts (kW), which can add up to 20 miles of driving range per minute for EVs that accept high-power charging.

Electrify America's new large-format EV charging station in Santa Barbara features 20 Hyper-Fast chargers capable of 350 kW. An aerial view of Electrify America's new large-format EV charging station in Santa Barbara.

The company says, the new station also has a 1.9 megawatt (MW) battery energy storage system (BESS), which is Electrify America's largest public BESS deployment to date. The BESS stores energy from the electrical grid during low usage periods and when abundant solar energy is available. It then discharges this energy during high demand periods.

Santa Barbara County also says it will be adding new charging stations at Rincon Beach and along Santa Claus Lane in the near future.

(More details, photos and video will be added here later today.)

The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With the Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.