The New York Times reports that San Francisco, San Diego and Portland are some of the cities where EV fever is already evident. San Francisco plans to revise its building code to require car chargers in new structures, and current EV owners are already able to plug in their converted hybrids near City Hall.

Most of the attention seems to be going toward installing public charging stations, but a truly big hurdle almost certainly will be equipping private homes with the stations. Before EVs can become major transportation sources, we are going to need a whole lot more electricity, with much of it flowing into our garages. That's a big challenge for suppliers as well as for the delivery into homes and neighborhoods.

Oh, and there's also the cost. The Times quotes one knowledgeable observer as saying that each battery will cost automakers $12,000, with charging units for individual households running at least $1,500. In other words, going green is likely going to be costing some green.