The 2012 Olympics are almost upon us, and we all know what that means. Droves and droves of tourists, athletes, and everyone in between will descend upon London, overcrowd it briefly, and then vanish. But rather than build huge facilities that will never be used again, London is using the Olympic crowds as an excuse to improve its EV charging station network and promote driving electric cars.
The UK company ChargePoint Services was rewarded a contract to install not less than 120 charging posts around the Stratford site and other “key locations” around London. The posts to be installed are GE Energy’s quick-charge DuraStation posts. ChargePoint will also develop the software required to manage the live charge post network.
Athletes in Electric Cars
The plan is to transport officials and competing athletes between venues by in London EVs this summer. Some 200 electric BMWs and Mini Coopers are available to the Olympics organizers. This is actually an ideal use for electric cars, since most of the venues are in London (and not all within walking distance) and a relatively short-range zero-emission EV is the perfect way to get everyone where they need to go without adding to the London smog. Travelers going to sites farther away may have to rely on more traditional transportation, but at least traffic in London itself should stay fairly clean.
The installation of over 100 charging posts is also supposed to help Mayor Boris Johnson’s stated goal of 1,300 public charging points by 2013, of which only 400 have been installed so far, as the posts will join the mayor’s Source London network after the Olympics have ended.
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Source: Business Green | Image: MiniUsa
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