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Electric Vehicle Charging Services Arrive at Oakland International Airport as Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network Expansion Continues into Bay Area

Dépèche transmise le 18 mai 2011 par Business Wire

Electric Vehicle Charging Services Arrive at Oakland International Airport as Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network Expansion Continues into Bay Area

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Port of Oakland and Coulomb Technologies today announced that electric vehicle (EV) driver services have arrived at Oakland International Airport (OAK) with the installation of eight ChargePoint® Network charging stations for EVs in the Premier Parking Lot.

“This is another example of the airport’s commitment to renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, leading to a healthier community. Bay Area EV owners now have another reason to choose OAK for their air travel needs.”

Oakland International is the first Northern California airport to offer EV charging services as part of the ChargePoint Network, providing drivers EV services including real-time charging station status and reservations.

The ChargePoint charging stations will be unveiled today at a 10:00 am press event at OAK with Port of Oakland Director of Aviation Deborah Ale Flint, Coulomb Founder and CTO Richard Lowenthal and a testimonial by a Bay Area EV driver and OAK customer. A charging demonstration of numerous EVs at the eight dual-outlet stations includes a Chevrolet Volt, Nissan LEAF and Tesla Roadster.

“Oakland International Airport and Bay Area EV drivers are aligned in our mutual goal of environmental leadership,” said Deborah Ale Flint, Director of Aviation, Port of Oakland. “We are now ready for the next generation of alternative-powered vehicles and we appreciate that stimulus funding combined with new technology has transformed a vision to reality. Through Coulomb Technologies, we offer eight ChargePoint Network charging stations that can simultaneously serve up to 15 electric vehicles, giving our EV-driving customers the ability to charge while they are traveling or greeting a passenger inside our terminals,” she continued.

“Oakland International has been a long-time leader in environmental stewardship and because of this we are so pleased that the East Bay’s airport is the first in Northern California to install ChargePoint Network charging stations for their customers,” said Richard Lowenthal, Founder and CTO, Coulomb Technologies. “This is another example of the airport’s commitment to renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, leading to a healthier community. Bay Area EV owners now have another reason to choose OAK for their air travel needs.”

ChargePoint stations are located in OAK’s Premier Lot, located directly opposite the terminals. There is no additional fee for EV charging. Parking rates are priced competitively at $3.00 per 30 minutes for up to 5 hours, and $36.00 for 5 to 24 hours. Other Premier Lot benefits include:

• Exclusive entry and exit lanes to minimize waiting;
• Credit Card Express: just swipe the same credit card upon entering and exiting, with no parking ticket to keep track of;
• Access to the Premier Security Lanes at the terminal security checkpoints – a huge time-saver; and
• Premier Ambassador Service which includes a free newspaper and water, and outgoing fax service.

The ChargePoint Network expansion into Oakland International Airport brings EV drivers easy-to-use unique charging services including the ability to: check real-time status and location of unoccupied charging stations, reserve a charging station, track and report greenhouse gas and gasoline savings, and receive charging status notifications by SMS, email or smart phone (iPhone and Blackberry) applications. Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and all manufacturers of electric vehicle charging stations.

The ChargePoint stations are a part of Coulomb’s $37 million ChargePoint America program, which offers thousands of free EV charging stations for public and home charging to individuals and businesses. The charging stations were supplied by Coulomb regional distributor Clean Fuel Connection, which used Bay Area contractor REJ Electric for installation.

Coulomb’s ChargePoint America program will provide nearly 5,000 charging stations to program participants in ten regions in the United States: Austin, Texas, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando/Tampa, Sacramento, Calif., San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area, Redmond/Bellevue, Wash., Washington DC/Baltimore, Southern Michigan (including Grand Rapids, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Detroit). The program 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 3800 systems shipped to more than 700 customers. Installation of the ChargePoint charging stations is currently underway in all regions. Businesses interested in free public ChargePoint stations can visit http://www.chargepointamerica.com to apply.

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 by October 2011, 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 Coulomb Technologies, Inc.

Coulomb Technologies is the leader in electric vehicle charging solutions, with charging systems and application services delivered by the ChargePoint Network. The ChargePoint Network provides multiple web-based portals for Hosts, Fleet Managers, Drivers, and Utilities. The open-system driver network went live in January 2009 and now operates in 14 countries with Network Operations Centers in the U.S., UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany and Hong Kong. Coulomb’s ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations range from 120 to 240 VAC charging up to 500 Volt DC fast charging with more than 3800 stations shipped worldwide. For more information go to: www.coulombtech.com. Follow Coulomb on Twitter: twitter.com/coulombevi. Download the ChargePoint iPhone App. Download the ChargePoint Blackberry App.

About the Port of Oakland and Oakland International Airport

The Port of Oakland oversees the Oakland seaport, Oakland International Airport and 20 miles of waterfront. The Oakland seaport is the fifth busiest container port in the U.S.; Oakland International Airport is the second largest San Francisco Bay Area airport and fourth largest airport in California, offering over 130 daily flights; and the Port’s real estate includes commercial developments such as Jack London Square and hundreds of acres of public parks and conservation areas. The Port of Oakland was established in 1927 and is an independent department of the City of Oakland. Visit portofoakland.com and oaklandairport.com. Facebook / Oakland International Airport.