December 27th, 2010
Congress passed a new piece of legislation on December 17th that will allow alternative fuel tax incentives to extend into the new year. It is called The Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010 (HR 4853) and means that:
- The 50-cent per gallon tax credit for compressed and liquefied natural gas when used as a vehicle fuel. This tax credit, which expired at the end of 2009, is retroactive for 2010.
- The investment tax credit for alternative vehicle refueling property, including natural gas stations. This covers 30 percent of the cost or $30,000, whichever is less. This credit also includes a $1,000 tax credit for a home refueling unit.
If you’ve been waiting for EVs to hit the market, the new year is the time to get one! Coulomb Technologies is installing public charging stations nationwide (find them all here: http://www.mychargepoint.net/find-stations.php), and the government has significantly subsidized your home charging station!
If you are planning on buying the Chevrolet Volt, Ford Focus BEV, Ford Transit Connect, or smartfortwo electric drive, make sure you check out ChargePoint America and see if you qualify for a FREE home station.
Read more about the legislation here: http://www.automotive-fleet.com/News/Story/2010/12/Tax-Bill-Extends-Alt-Fuel-Incentives.aspx
Tags: EV Charging Stations, EV infrastructure, HR 4853, Tax credit
Posted in Electric Vehicles, EV Charging Stations | No Comments »
September 16th, 2010
Great Article from The State.com
Greenville startup company called Thurso Power Systems on Wednesday unveiled what it said was the first publicly available charging station for electric vehicles in South Carolina.
The company hopes eventually to build a network of the stations across South Carolina that would make it more convenient to use electric vehicles. It has immediate plans to install five at Spinx convenience stores, said Thurso President Brian Edens.
Representatives from electric vehicle manufacturers from across the region – including two with new operations in the Upstate, Proterra Inc. and CT&T Korea Ltd. – gathered outside of Thurso’s offices to unveil the station next to Fluor Field at the West End downtown.
Mike Baur, chief executive of Greenville’s ScanSource Inc., was the first to use the station, plugging in his Tesla Roadster all-electric sportscar.
Baur said his Tesla will go 240 miles on a single charge, “but that won’t quite get me to Charleston. If I can stop at one of these stations, like in Columbia, I can get another 40 miles of charge in an hour.”
Stewart Spinks, founder and chief executive of Spinx Co., the Greenville-based convenience store chain, said he hopes Spinx stores with the charging stations will land more business from electric car owners waiting for their vehicles to re-charge.
“We hope they’ll come in and buy some fried chicken,” Spinks said.
Spinks said he expects very low demand for the charging stations at first, but “you’ve got to get started somewhere.”
Melody Hudson, Spinx Co.’s advertising and public relations manager, said the chain plans to put the first charging station at its store at the intersection of Washington and Laurens streets.
She said Spinx is evaluating stores in Moncks Corner, Columbia, Anderson, Greer and Spartanburg for the other four stations.
Whether Spinx installs more than five stations will depend on demand, she said.
The charging stations are made by Coulomb Technologies of Campbell, Calif., and Edens said Thurson has exclusive rights to distribute and install the machines in much of South Carolina. The company will also operate the charging stations for customers such as convenience stores, local governments and colleges, he said.
Edens, formerly national sales manager for Sealevel Systems in Liberty, said Greenville music celebrity Edwin McCain and local software entrepreneur John Sterling are among the investors in Thurso.
Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2010/09/16/1468055/states-first-car-charging-station.html#ixzz0zk6Up85d
Tags: Coulomb, EV Charging Stations, South Carolina
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September 15th, 2010
 After the success of the hybrid electric vehicle in the last decade auto manufacturers are preparing the next wave of advanced vehicles. Plug-in electric vehicles, which can use energy from the electric grid in addition to or in place of gasoline, are reaching the market from start-up manufacturers as well as established auto makers. Consumer interest is high, fed by environmental concern, fluctuating fuel prices, and technological allure- leading tens of thousands of customers to sign up on waiting lists for the new vehicles.
California is set up as the leading testing ground for the next generation of electric powertrain vehicles, with the critical combination of environmentally interested consumers and leadership in environmental regulation. California continues to lead the nation in setting auto emission standards and has taken steps towards setting limits on tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions. Fortunately, new technologies in battery storage, system controls, inverter components, and electric motor materials are arriving to enable this new generation of electric vehicles.
The panel includes top executives in the EV industry and a representative from the State of California. We will address:
1. What is driving consumers to buy an electric vehicle?
2. How will market drivers influence market adoption of the various types of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs)?
3. What supporting infrastructure is required to support deployment of PEVs?
4. What are the key technologies enabling vehicle electrification?
Panel Lineup:
Mike DiNucci, VP of Strategic Accounts at Coulomb
Anthony Eggert: Commissioner of the California Energy Commission
Byron Shaw, Managing Director of GM Advanced Technology Silicon Valley
Neil Armstrong, President eDrive & Powertrain USA Division Mercedes-Benz
Moderator: Haresh Kamath, EPRI Strategic Program Manager, Materials for Grid Transformation
Register Here to attend:
http://www.mitcnc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=muIZLaMMJrE&b=5962243&ct=8651759¬oc=1
Event Logistics:
Time: Sept 30 2010 at 6:30PM
Location: 1000 Marsh Road Menlo Park
Tags: Coulomb, EV Charging Stations, MIT Club Events
Posted in EV / Green Events | No Comments »
August 26th, 2010
San Francisco has partnered with Toyota to pilot the company’s Prius plug-in hybrid demonstration program vehicles. The vehicles that joined San Francisco’s fleet on August 25 are the first commercial fleet deliveries for Toyota.
The Prius plug-in hybrid vehicles will charge at three recently-upgraded ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations in front of City Hall. These stations are now Level II, which offers charging at 240 volts in addition to the existing 110 volts. The Prius plug-in hybrid takes only an hour and a half to fully charge at 240 volts.
The ChargePoint stations outside of San Francisco City Hall are available for public use as well, so make sure you top off as you make your way through The City by the Bay.
Read the full press release here: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mayor-newsom-announces-partnership-with-toyota-to-test-new-plug-in-hybrid-vehicles-upgraded-charging-systems-101506244.html
Tags: EV Charging Stations, EV infrastructure, Fleets, San Francisco, Toyota Plug-In Hybrid
Posted in Coulomb Technologies, EV Charging Stations | 2 Comments »
July 14th, 2010
ChargePoint America sees its name in lights with the New York charging station unveiling this morning! The station is located at Edison ParkFast, 451 9th Avenue in Manhattan. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Coulomb CEO Richard Lowenthal, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and Edison Properties Chairman Jerry Gottesman battled the rain but made it on time to attend this exciting event.
Mayor Bloomberg spoke at the celebration:“To meet the ambitious goals in PlaNYC, our long-term sustainability agenda, we will have to reduce transportation emissions by taking mass transit, walking or riding a bike, and increasing the use of alternative-fuel and electric vehicles,” he said. “Coulomb Technologies and the ChargePoint America program will help us support a new type of vehicle on City streets so we can reduce pollution and emissions in the most efficient way.”
New Yorkers will keep noticing this new A-lister charging station as The City of New York continues to install stations under the $37 million ChargePoint America program.
Look for more media coverage about this event throughout New York — the rain couldn’t keep these reporters from getting the top story today!
Official Coulomb Press Release: http://chargepointamerica.com/pr/pr-20100714.php
NYC.gov Videos & Pictures: News from the Blue Room
Tags: Bloomberg, ChargePoint America, Edison ParkFast, EV Charging Stations, New York, PlaNYC
Posted in Coulomb Technologies, EV Charging Stations | No Comments »
July 8th, 2010
This morning at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) headquarters in Palo Alto, Coulomb Technologies, EPRI, and the California Energy Comission unveiled the first ChargePoint America public charging station in the state of California. It is only the second of almost 5000 stations that will be installed in 9 metropolitan cities around the country as a part of the $37 million ChargePoint America Program. Two plug-in hybrid Priuses received a healthy dose of electric energy from the charging station during the station unveiling and dedication.
News conference speakers included Silicon Valley Leadership Executive Director Carl Guardino, Energy Commissioner Jeffrey Byron, Coulomb President Praveen Mandal, EPRI Vice President of Environment and Renewables Sector Bryan Hannegan, and US Department of Energy Supervisor, Hybrid Electric Systems and Materials Technology, Office of Vehicle Technologies Edwin Owens, and Palo Alto Mayor Pat Burt.
Check out the ABC7 K-GO news and video coverage of the event from the link below and watch for the event on CBS5’s K-PIX 6 o’clock news tonight!
ABC7 News and Video Report: $3.4M grant awarded for electric car charging stations
Coulomb Press Release: Coulomb Technologies Announces $3.4 Million from CA Energy Commission to Install Electric Vehicles Infrastructure
Tags: charge-point america, epri, EV Charging Stations
Posted in Coulomb Technologies, EV Charging Stations | No Comments »
April 12th, 2010
Whole Foods Market Unveils Coulomb Technologies ChargePoint Networked Charging Station Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles
 Whole Foods Market Flagship store in Austin Texas First Station at Flagship Store in Austin, TX Opens April 12, 2010 with 10:00 am Press Conference
Campbell, CA April 12, 2010 – Coulomb Technologies the leader in electric vehicle charging station infrastructure today announced that Whole Foods Market has installed their first ChargePoint® Networked Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles (EV). The charging station is located at Whole Foods Market flagship store: 525 N. Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78703. To kickoff the unveiling, Whole Foods Market will hold a press conference that includes Chris Riley, Austin City Council, Mark Dixon, Whole Foods Market Southwest Regional President; Guy Mannino, Coulomb’s exclusive Southwest distributor Verdek, LLC, and Karl Rabago, Austin Energy Vice President for Distributed Energy Services. The official unveiling of the station in downtown Austin Texas takes place on Monday, April 12, 2010 at 10:00 am. Available to the public, the event will also feature electric vehicles including an electric sports car.
Read the entire press release here.
Tags: EV, EV Austin Texas, EV Charging Stations, Guy Mannino, Whole Foods Charging Station
Posted in Coulomb Technologies, Electric Vehicles, EV / Green Events, EV Charging Stations, Uncategorized | No Comments »
November 2nd, 2009
Planning on attending the SEMA Convention this week? Be sure an check out Booth #30215. Guy Mannino, president and CEO of Verdek and Verdek-EV will display a ChargePoint™ Networked Charging Station in the Green Zone (Upper South Hall #30215) Tuesday-Friday, Nov. 3-6.
SEMA will host a Driving Green press conference in the booth from 1:00-1:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
Verdek-EV is an exclusive regional distributor of Coulomb’s products and Mannino will be available in the Green Zone on Tuesday and Wednesday to provide more information regarding this key component of Driving Green.
Tags: Coulomb Technologies, EV Charging Stations, Guy Mannino, SEMA Convention
Posted in EV Charging Stations | No Comments »
October 27th, 2009
Did you know that throughout the 1800s, there was no centralized system of paper money in the United States? Before the Federal Reserve Bank was created by the U.S. government in 1913, each bank issued its own custom money, and by the end of the 19th century, there were more than *five thousand* different kinds of bank notes floating around this country. There was no centralization. There was no standardization. It was chaos.
Fortunately, we’ve learned a valuable lesson about using industry standards.
Let me ask you a question: when you shop for a new DVD player, do you need to spend any time trying to figure out which brand of discs your new player is compatible? Or does the fact that all consumer electronics companies adhere to an industry standard when it comes to the physical dimensions of DVDs allow you the freedom to consider ALL different brands, features and models of DVD players? Of course it does.
This is why it’s critical – as we begin to consider the paradigm shift toward battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) – we must adopt an open standard when it comes to recharging these cars; this is the quickest way to ensure proliferation of these cars among the American driver. The idea that you might be forced to adapt to one specific kind of recharging technology could potentially cripple the widespread adoption of these zero-emission vehicles.
A forum of panelists convened in Palo Alto on a recent evening to discuss this topic – the title of the event was: “EVs: Transformational Change or Niche Trend?” A journalist in the audience focused in on this thread, which was picked up by Reuters.
 EV Charging Stations
It’s going to take quite a few years before ALL Americans fully embrace the idea of ‘driving clean’ – we must do nothing to retard this effort, and everything to help spur it along. Which is to say, the driver must feel completely comfortable with the ease of recharging their vehicle. Having a completely open charging system, and industry standards when it comes to charging protocols is the surest way to ensuring success.
Tags: EV Charging Stations, SAE J1772
Posted in Electric Vehicles | No Comments »
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