AN investor based in California is interested in building the infrastructure for electric cars on island.
In an interview Friday in his Saipan office at Marina Heights Business Park, Dave Hood, the chief executive officer of Coldwell Solar, said: “It’s not about bringing the cars to Saipan. It’s about removing the mystery of the cost versus the savings of the electric car and building the infrastructure for charging stations and service to make electric vehicles convenient and affordable.”
Hood, who recently bought the former house of the late Larry Hillblom in San Vicente, said he wants electric cars to be “affordable for everybody.”
He added, “I am going to…bring them here and test the cars to [see] how they operate here because they operate a little differently with conditions that we have. We are going to work on the mileage, the charge times. How do we charge them? Do we use solar? How do we get the infrastructure in place so that you can buy one and everyone can have one, and we can get the price tag under $50,000 so they can become affordable to most people? That is my goal.”
Hood acknowledged that “it’s hard for government to build the infrastructure” for electric cars.
“Better to have the private sector [do it]. It can be strategic that way and cost-effective,” he said.
“I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes to sell cars. I want to get the infrastructure in place so that all can have one. Right now, there is really nothing. I just want to promote the use of these cars here and how to make it smooth for everyone to have one. That is just going to be a lot of work to get the infrastructure in place. So I think I will play a key role here. We do that in the U.S. already.”
Dave Hood
