Electric Vehicle charging in Tranquillity Park Garage

 

Houston Expands Electric Vehicle Fleet; Adds Public Charging Stations*

September 9, 2011 -- The City of Houston and its partners have launched a comprehensive, city-wide electric vehicle program -- which not only adds EVs to the city fleet, but will install 50 public charging stations around the city.

It’s called Houston Drives Electric, a city program that implements clean and economic driving alternatives.  The HEB Buffalo Market in southwest Houston is now home to the Freedom Station, the city’s first public electric vehicle charging station.

Arun Banskota is the head of NRG Electric Vehicle Services, one of the partners in this effort. He said each Freedom Station offers room for two cars to charge simultaneously. “What is very important is the one on the left is only one of two DC chargers, rapid chargers in the nation today,” he said. “You plug in your car, walk inside HEB for 15 minutes, you get a 50 mile boost of range. It’s a very rapid charger.”

Mayor Annise Parker –who spent 20 years in the oil and  gas industry — was on hand. “The City of Houston recently purchased two Nissan Leafs, which are displayed here today,” she said. “These are the first all-electric municipal fleet vehicles in Texas. Another 23 electric vehicles will be added to the city’s fleet by the year end, joining the 15 plug-in hybrids we already have in our fleet.” Houston is expanding its fleet of electric city vehicles, buying 30 cars with the help of the federal government.

Luke Metzger is the director of Environment Texas, a citizen-based environmental advocacy organization that works to shift to clean energy. “Houston’s worldwide known for being the oil capital of the world, so to make a big commitment to electric vehicles is very impressive,” he said. “Not just through words, but through financial investments. Buying electric cars for the city fleet, installing the charging stations, and bringing the utilities to the table and making this a major priority for the city I think is really impressive.”

All told Houston, working with its partner ECOtality, will install 28 additional public charging stations at city libraries and parks. Another partner, GRIDbot, will handle the installation of an additional 28 municipal charging stations in the parking garage underneath Tranquility Park, for the  fleet of city vehicles.

* This article is from Transportation Nation. Link opens in a new window and may expire over time.