Google Adds Clout To Electric-Car Charging At Work Effort

By Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

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Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield is a self-confessed petrol head. She grew up in a carless family but was able at a very early age to name cars passing her on... More

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Houston's Tranquility Park Garage with GRIDbot charging stations

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If you drive an electric car on a daily basis, the chances are your car has more than enough range to tackle the daily commute on a single charge, so charging at work isn't a concern.

Unless that is, you’re one of the few to drive well beyond the range of a round trip, and already have a dedicated electric car charging station at the place you work.

If a new initiative launched yesterday in at Google headquarters takes off however, charging stations in the office parking lot may soon become a lot more common. 

Keynoted at its launch event by members of the U.S. Department of Energy, the new project from non-profit clean transportation group CALSTART aims to  encourage the adoption of electric cars by helping companies install charging stations for their employees to use.

By leveraging the existing experiences of firms like Google, SAP, and Disney -- all of which have extensive electric car programs in place --  the initiative will provide employers with real-world examples of how to implement and finance at-work electric car charging.

It will also operate as an information hub, enabling both employers and employees to quickly share best practices on how to get electric car charging at work. 

Google-liveried 2012 Mitsubishi i

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“More than thirty percent of emissions in the U.S. happen due to daily commuters driving gasoline-powered cars,” said John Bosel, President and CEO of CALSTART. “Employers can serve as the ‘calvary’ of the electric vehicle movement. By installing chargers at the workplace, employers can help extend the effective daily range of an electric vehicle.”

To coincide with the launch of the initiative, CALSTART will soon launch a new website specifically for employers, called evworkplace.org

Providing everything from basic questions about electric cars to details of charging stations, costs and suppliers, it will provide a first point of contact for those companies considering the installation of charging stations.

Do you need electric car charging at work? Do you think your employer would install one for you, given the right incentives?

Let us know in the Comments below.

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