A California-based investor is interested in building electric car infrastructure on the island.

In an interview Friday in his Saipan office at Marina Heights Business Park, Dave Hood, CEO of Coldwell Solar, said, “This is not about bringing the cars to Saipan. It is about removing the mystery of the cost versus savings of the electric car and building the infrastructure of charging stations and services to make electric vehicles practical and affordable.

Hood, who recently bought the late Larry Hillblom’s former home in San Vicente, said he wanted electric cars to be “affordable for everyone.”

He added: “I will… bring them here and test the cars for [see] how they work here because they work a little differently with the conditions that we have. We are going to work on the mileage, the charging times. How do we charge them? Are we using solar energy? How do we set up the infrastructure so that you can buy one and everyone can have one, and we can get a price under $ 50,000 so that they can become affordable for most? people? It’s my aim.

Hood acknowledged that “it is difficult for the government to build the infrastructure” for electric cars.

“Better than the private sector [do it]. It can be strategic that way and profitable, ”he said.

“I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes to sell cars. I want to put in place the infrastructure so that everyone can have one. At the moment, there is really nothing. I just want to promote the use of these cars here and how to make sure everyone has one. It’s going to be a lot of work to put the infrastructure in place. So I think I’m going to play a key role here. We are already doing it in the United States.