First Coulomb Public ChargePoint Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles Installed in Minnesota
CAMPBELL, CALIF. January 4, 2011 – Coulomb Technologies today announced that the first public ChargePoint® Networked Charging Station for electric vehicles (EVs) is now installed in Minnesota. The 120V/240V Level I & II ChargePoint station in the public parking ramp of the First National Bank building 332 N. Minnesota Street, St. Paul, Minnesota 55101 is located on the new Central Corridor light rail line that will connect downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis. The line is scheduled to open in 2014. The owners intend to power the ChargePoint station using 100 percent wind energy, part of Xcel Energy’s WindSource program. The WindSoure program is the largest voluntary green-energy program in the United States according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The ChargePoint station was sold by Coulomb distributor Carbon Day Automotive, and installation of the station was a collaboration between ElectriCharge Mobility / MTI Inc, Weber Electric, Inc. and the FNBB.
Managed and leased by Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), the First National Bank Building has been revitalized as a hub of speed, comfort and convenience. Installation of EV charging stations in the building’s parking ramp is the latest ‘green’ initiative aimed at modernizing the landmark property for its tenants.
According to Tanya Hemphill, C&W’s general manager at the property, “Extensive improvements have been made at the First National Bank Building to reclaim its iconic status as the premier business environment in downtown St. Paul. Being the first parking facility in Minnesota to offer EV charging stations only serves to reinforce the First National Bank Building’s position as a leader in the marketplace."
“Having ChargePoint stations at transportation hubs is a wonderful and smart investment in the future of travel,” said Coulomb CEO Richard Lowenthal “Adding wind power to the mix is a perfect example of how innovation and knowhow can create 100 percent clean transportation.”
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 (including free charging)
- The ability for drivers to access stations without a subscription 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
- Multiple Smart Phone applications (iPhone and Blackberry) to find unoccupied stations and navigate to them
- The lowest operating cost possible due to real-time operational monitoring, alerts, diagnosis, and control of millions of stations
About Carbon Day Automotive
Carbon Day Automotive (Chicago, IL) is the leading electric vehicle charging station company in the Midwest as the exclusive distributor for Coulomb Technologies in 10 states which includes Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Lake County Indiana. Please visit www.CarbonDayAutomotive.com for more information.
About Coulomb Technologies, Inc.
Coulomb Technologies is the leader in electric vehicle charging systems and application services, with the ChargePoint Network now operating in 14 countries, and Network Operations Centers in the U.S., London, and Hong Kong. The ChargePoint Network first went live in January of 2009. Coulomb provides a vehicle-charging infrastructure, with an open system driver network: the ChargePoint Network provides multiple web-based portals for Hosts, Fleet Managers, Drivers, and Utilities, and ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations ranging in capability from 120 Volt to 240 Volt AC charging and up to 500 Volt DC charging. For more information, follow Coulomb on Twitter at twitter.com/coulombevi. To request a charging station in your area, visit www.mychargepoint.net/request-station.php. To download the ChargePoint iPhone App, click here.
