Coulomb Technologies announced the installation of its ChargePoint® networked electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Bellevue as a part of its $37 million ChargePoint America program. The first two 240V Level II Coulomb ChargePoint stations are now installed at Bellevue City Hall (450 110th Avenue, NE). In the Bellevue and surrounding areas, Coulomb’s ChargePoint America program is now offering hundreds of free EV charging stations for public and home charging to individuals and businesses. The installation of the City Hall ChargePoint station was provided by Coulomb distributor Charge Northwest.
The ChargePoint charging station will be unveiled on Friday, November 19, 2010 at 2:30 pm pacific at Bellevue City Hall in downtown Bellevue. Bellevue Mayor Dr. Don Davidson, Coulomb’s ChargePoint America Director Michael Jones, PSE Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Andy Wappler and Kemper Development Company Glenn Bachman are scheduled to present. Additionally several electric vehicles including a Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid (PEV) will be on display.
“We’re genuinely excited about getting charging stations here,” Mayor Don Davidson said. “In keeping with the goals of our Environmental Stewardship Initiative, we want to encourage cleaner transportation options. Helping create a network of charging stations in our region is one way of doing that.”
“Washington has been planning and preparing for years for the introduction of electric vehicles,” said Richard Lowenthal, CEO at Coulomb Technologies. “Installation of networked charging infrastructure is essential for the widespread adoption of these zero emission vehicles. We are pleased to bring what will become hundreds of ChargePoint stations in the state of Washington.”
“Substituting electricity for gasoline in our cars is one of the most promising ways we can reduce our dangerous overreliance on foreign oil and lower driving costs,” said Senator Maria Cantwell. “Along with the $7,500 tax credit for plug-in electric vehicles I created with Senator Hatch of Utah, charging stations like these are essential to enable Washingtonians to realize the cost-saving and environmental benefits of electric cars. These are the kind of strategic infrastructure investments that will cement Washington states leadership in the clean energy economy – the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century.”
Coulomb’s ChargePoint America program will provide 4,600 FREE charging stations in nine regions in the United States: Austin, Texas, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Fla., Sacramento, Calif., the San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area, Bellevue/Redmond, Wash., and Washington DC and is a strategic partnership between Coulomb and three leading automobile brands: Ford, Chevrolet and smart USA. Coulomb currently has the largest established base of networked charging stations worldwide with more than 850 units shipped to more than 200 customers. Installation of the ChargePoint charging stations is underway now in all nine regions.
“Charge Northwest is working closely with cities and businesses to make our community EV ready,” said Jim Billmaier founding partner of Charge Northwest. “The City of Bellevue is demonstrating their leadership by installing and showcasing one of the first networked charging stations in the state of Washington and we are proud be a part of this project.”
Coulomb’s ChargePoint® Network is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and all manufacturers of plug-in vehicle charging stations. ChargePoint Network’s unique features include:
——The ability for a station owner to set fees for use of their stations
——The ability for drivers to access stations via contactless credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, and Discover)
——24/7/365 telephone driver support via a toll free number on all charging stations
——Smart Grid ready with built in Utility Grade Capable Metering, Time of Use (TOU) pricing and Demand Response (DR) control
——Smart Phone applications to find unoccupied stations, navigate to them, and operate them
——Low operating cost through remote monitoring, alerts, diagnosis, and control
ChargePoint America will deploy FREE public and home charging stations to individuals and businesses. Organizations in and around the metro Washington DC area interested in receiving free public charging stations should visit the ChargePoint America web site www.chargepointamerica.com and sign up by completing the application form. Individuals interested in purchasing an EV should sign up to receive more information about qualifying for a free home charging station. Additionally, the ChargePoint America web site provides a way for drivers to suggest public locations for charging stations.