Press Release: National Grid Further Expands ChargePoint Network Driving EV Adoption Throughout Massachusetts
Campbell, Calif. February 28, 2012 Coulomb Technologies today announced that National Grid, a leading utility in the Northeast, is now providing electric vehicle (EV) drivers with a new and premium charging experience throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. National Grid has completed the installation of more than 30 new charging stations at several host locations. The stations are a part of Coulomb’s ChargePoint® Network, the largest network of independently owned charging stations in the world. The utility will help build out the necessary infrastructure for Massachusetts residents to feel good about purchasing electric vehicles throughout the region knowing there are locations to charge in public. National Grid and its hosting partners are offering the public charging services at no cost to EV drivers for a minimum of two years.
“Our goal is to drive the acceleration of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure to prepare for new EV offerings throughout the state and Northeast region,” said Ed White vice president customer & business strategy from National Grid. “ChargePoint Network allows us to offer state-of the-art driver features while integrating EV charging into our smart grid plans, and monitoring the EV charging load. This announcement is a demonstration of our investment in technologies that will help modernize the region’s electricity system while offering our customers more sustainable energy options that help to protect our environment.”
To locate National Grid’s recently installed stations along with all nearby Coulomb charging infrastructure please visit www.chargepoint.net and click Find Stations.
Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network provides drivers state of the art features including the ability to: help with trip planning, manage the cost of charging, and find and operate public ChargePoint-enabled stations. ChargePoint locations are included on all ChargePoint mobile phone applications for iPhone, Android and Blackberry. These ChargePoint mobile apps provide an easy way to locate stations near any specified address, get turn-by-turn directions, and even start and stop a charging session directly from a smart phone. Additionally, these apps allow drivers to utilize ChargePoint Network’s station reservation feature. Drivers can locate reservable stations, and then make, view and cancel a reservation directly from a smart phone.
Massachusetts currently has approximately 50 EV stations. The addition of these 30 new stations nearly doubles the charging locations currently available to Massachusetts EV drivers. For more information about National Grid’s electric vehicle charging station program, visit http://www.chargepoint.net/find-stations.php
https://www.powerofaction.com/PEV.
“We are proud to be working closely with National Grid to help this region become EV-ready and drive EV adoption throughout New England,” said Pat Romano president and CEO at Coulomb. “With more than 10 new electric vehicles on the market in 2012, National Grid is providing a solution for managing charging services that ensures their community will be EV-ready.”
The National Grid charging stations were made available through Coulomb’s
$37 million ChargePoint America Department of Energy program. Coulomb’s ChargePoint America program will provide charging stations to program participants in ten regions in the United States, including San Antonio/Austin, Texas; Boston; Los Angeles; New York; Orlando/Tampa; Sacramento; San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area; Redmond/Bellevue, Washington; Washington DC/Baltimore; and Southern Michigan (including Grand Rapids, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Detroit). The program is a strategic partnership between Coulomb and four leading automobile brands, including Ford, Chevrolet, smart USA and BMW.
Any purchaser of a program electric vehicle (Chevrolet Volt, Ford Transit Connect, Ford Focus Electric, BMW ActiveE, Nissan LEAF™ or the smart fortwo electric drive), whose home is located within one of the ten target regions, may be eligible to receive a home charging station at no cost. Please visit www.chargepointamerica.com for more details.
About ChargePoint America
The $37 million ChargePoint America program is made possible by a $15M grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Transportation Electrification Initiative administered by the Department of Energy. ChargePoint America will provide 4,600 public and home ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations, adding to the existing ChargePoint Network. Coulomb will work together with its distribution and industry partners to evaluate the demand from the respective geographic regions and allocate charging stations based on this and other factors. The ChargePoint America project will collect data characterizing vehicle use and charging patterns. Idaho National Labs will analyze the data. www.chargepointamerica.com
About National Grid
National Grid (LSE: NG; NYSE:NGG) is an electricity and gas company that connects consumers to energy sources through its networks. The company is at the heart of one of the greatest challenges facing our society – to create new, sustainable energy solutions for the future and develop an energy system that underpins economic prosperity in the 21st century. National Grid holds a vital position at the center of the energy system.
In the northeast US, National Grid connects more than seven million gas and electric customers to vital energy sources, essential for our modern lifestyles. In Great Britain, we run the gas and electricity systems that our society is built on, delivering gas and electricity across the country.
About Coulomb Technologies
Coulomb Technologies is the leading electric vehicle charging solutions company. Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network is the largest online global charging network connecting electric vehicle drivers to charging stations in more than 14 countries. Coulomb also provides ChargePoint Network service plans, cloud-based solutions that handle driver billing and support, and the ability and flexibility for organizations to optimize performance of their electric vehicle charging operations. Coulomb Technologies customers include large employers such as Google and SAP; utilities such as Consumer’s Energy, Orlando Utilities Commission and, Austin Energy; municipalities such as City of San Francisco and City of New York; large shopping centers such as South Coast Plaza in California and Bellevue Square in Washington State, and parking services providers such as Edison Properties and Priority Parking. Open to all charging station manufacturers, stations on ChargePoint Network are currently dispensing over 325 Megawatt hours of energy each month, with drivers plugging in for more than 1,700 charging sessions per day. For more information, visit www.coulombtech.com.
- May 26, 2011
Mayor Menino Inaugurates Electric Vehicle Charging Stations & Announces EVboston Initiative
Mayor Thomas Menino, right, Joe Nolan NStar Ex VP and Rachel Szakmary from Boston Transportation Department do a demonstration on how to plug in an electric vehicle. Credit David ErtischekMayor Thomas M. Menino on Monday, May 23rd unveiled the City of Boston’s first on-street charging stations for electric vehicles. The Mayor also announced the launch of EVboston, a new City program through the Boston Complete Streets initiative, designed to promote the use and accessibility of smart, green and multi-modal transportation in Boston.
Three parking spaces were opened to the public on Cambridge Street in front of City Hall Plaza. The free stations have been set aside for the exclusive use of electric car owners who need to recharge vehicle batteries. The project is a year-long pilot to study the use and durability of the charging units and to inform future implementation plans for electric vehicle stations around the city.
“Boston is a world-class city and one of the most forward-thinking “green” cities in the country,” Mayor Menino said. “As part of our Complete Streets mission and our commitment to sustainability, we want to make sure Boston is outfitted with the equipment electric vehicles require to operate safely and conveniently. EVboston demonstrates that the City is looking ahead to accommodate all modes of transportation and to welcome electric vehicles to Boston.”
Through the EVboston initiative, the City of Boston is preparing for the growth of the electric vehicle market in the region. According to industry experts, nine major automakers have committed to producing a total of twelve mass-market electric vehicles over the next three years. Cities around the U.S. are installing charging stations to accommodate the expected influx of electric cars. Although cars have only been spotted in Boston thus far- as imports from NY adn CT- Boston drivers should expect to see EVs available in this market by Fall.
In addition to the charging-stations pilot, the Boston Transportation Department’s EVboston program currently includes:
- An information vendor fair and forum for local parking managers and garage owners interested in purchasing a charging station, which was held May 20.
- The convening an “EVboston Consortium” of experts in the industry, equipment and vehicle manufacturers, parking facility owners and interested residents and institutions to advise the City.
- A Request for Interest to be released in fall 2011 to solicit proposals from industry professionals for the eventual adoption of a citywide plan to accommodate electric vehicles and charging stations.
- The City is currently participating in the Toyota Corporation’s “Plug-In” Fleet Demonstration Program. Along with other cities and towns throughout the country, Boston is testing a Toyota Plug-In Prius free of charge to evaluate for future use within the City’s fleet.
- The City is participating in this Northeast Regional Electric Vehicle (NEREV) partnership
- BTD will host a free screening of the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” held on the evening of June 2 at 8 p.m. on Boston Common. (Rain date of June 7).
We are also hoping to install 30 + more stations as part of a State DOER Green Communities Grant Application within the next few months!
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City Boston Hosts Electric Vehicle Charging Fair and Forum
Jim Hunt, Chief of Environment and Energy for City of Boston delivers welcome addressThe Boston Transportation Department, in conjunction with the Environment Department, Mass Clean Cities and sponsor A Better City hosted a free electric vehicle charging fair and forum on Friday, May 20 at the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center.
The event was well-attended with over 100 participants including city and state officials, the Boston business community, parking operators, building owners, property managers, universities, hospitals and residentail complexes. The EVboston event featured three expert panels representing car manufacturers, regional utility grid experts, Boston Transportation Department Planning Divison, MA Department of Energy Resources, and 12 electric vehicle charging station vendors to discuss how to best prepare for the emergence of electric vehicles. Among the issues discussed were permitting and site evaluation, building and electric code changes, electric vehicle behavior, charging-use predictions and data, equipment capabilities, how electric vehicle charging infrastructure is part of a broader effort to develop green garage design standards, and time of use charging rates.
BTD also released an EV charging station installation brochurefor property owners, and announced an EVboston website that is currently in the works. Boston's Transportation Department will soon begin a process to identify the best strategy to roll out charging infrastructure across the City, and anticipates neighborhood workshops to help owners of private parking spaces make the best decisions about this new technology.
For more information please view a copy of the EVbsoton forum & Fair agenda, and brochure in the documents section.
Rachel Szakmary
Boston, MA
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