The City of Santa Clara in California recently enjoyed the grand opening of the largest public multi-standard electric vehicle charging facility in the state. City and electric vehicle (EV) industry officials enjoyed the effort to enable more refreshing air and celebrated the milestone at the Santa Clara Electric Vehicle Charging Center, which is located in the city’s Tasman Parking Garage.
And for all those concerned about the source of energy for charging stations, listen up: “This garage also features a rooftop solar array and state-of-the-art power storage capability.”
How many charging stations are present here, you ask? 48 Level 2 chargers and one DC Fast Charger.
Continuing, the press release notes that “Santa Clara’s municipal electric utility Silicon Valley Power (SVP) collaborated with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Joint Venture Silicon Valley, ChargePoint, and MJR Electric.” The group received a grant of $393,000 from the California Energy Commission.
“This is a milestone in our city’s commitment to fighting climate change, and it sets a standard for local action in California,” said Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor.
The 6-story parking structure has a 370-kilowatt photovoltaic installation and uses battery technology from Green Charge Networks (a company we’ve been fondly covering for years) to help offset peak power demand with stored power to lower costs.
New models from local EV dealerships brightened up the celebration as well. Nowhere in the US is there more appreciation for EVs — and likewise, clearer, cleaner air — than California. California accounts for 40% of the 116,000 EVs reported sold in the US in 2015. Time for the rest of the states to wake up to the smell of air pollution and do something about it pragmatically — replacing their cars with EVs.
Related Stories:
California Passes 200,000 EV Milestone
New Tesla Superchargers Open In Nevada, California
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