I am excited by all things green and environmentally-conscious, so whenever Hermosa Beach does something great for the environment and the community, I try to support it 100%. in 2010, the City of Hermosa Beach decided to become completely “carbon neutral” and use alternative and solar power.  This week, Hermosa Beach got its first electric vehicle fast-charging station – the first on public land in California. The Freedom Station, installed by the company NRG eVgo, has two sleek CHAdeMO DC fast chargers and one standard Level 2 charger and is located on the roof level of the municipal parking structure at 1301 Hermosa Avenue.

The new charging station can charge a car battery for 80 miles of use in only 30 minutes and is compatible with both American and European cars. It’s only $14.95 a month for a membership to use the charger, or you can pay for each individual use. The key to getting more people into electric cars, and therefore into cars that are better for the environment,m is to make their communities friendly to these types of cars. The first step is to install charging stations for public use. Hopefully, more people in Hermosa Beach will be using electric cars from now on. There are 28 other such charging stations in Los Angeles now and the company is planning to install over a hundred more.

This is great news for families because a new study (here) from researchers at Oregon State University and the University of British Columbia found that pregnant women in “green” neighborhoods are more likely to have healthy babies. All in all, an environmentally-conscious, sustainable community is exactly what we’re going for in the South Bay, and Hermosa Beach is leading the way. Enjoy the new electric charging station!