Wal-Mart Foundation and Plug In Carolina Create a Cleaner Electric Vehicle Charging Network
July 24, 2012
COLUMBIA, SC – July 24, 2012 – This week at the South Carolina CleanEnergy Summit, Plug In Carolina received a check for $35,000 from theWalmart Foundation’s State Giving Program. The money will purchasegreen electricity and educational signage for Plug In Carolina’sninety-six electric vehicle charging stations. The South Carolina basednetwork appears to be the largest of its kind and presents a new modelfor the nation.
”Electric cars are better for the environment regardless of the sourceof electricity generation.” noted James Poch, Executive Director of PlugCarolina,”But now our network will purchase electricity from renewable,sustainable, sources like solar, wind, biomass, and hydro basedelectricity.” Poch also said the cost to fuel vehicles with renewablesources is significantly less than that of gasoline.
The charging stations are located in Charleston, Columbia, Conway,Greenville, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Rock Hill, Spartanburg,Surfside Beach, and Union. Plug In Carolina remotely monitors theenergy usage and will use the money to pay the premium for greenelectricity. Poch said the first three months of the network saw overfive hundred charging sessions and expects growth in the coming year.
This also means local providers will find a new market for their solar,wind, biomass, and hydro generation. Examples of South Carolinaproviders include the Palmetto Clean Energy program (www.palmettocleanenergy.com), Santee Cooper’s Green Power program (www.santeecooper.com), and Lockhart Power (www.lockhartpower.com). This will allow consumers to use domestic sources of energy fortransportation rather than foreign oil. “Every time I charge my Volt, Iget this warm feeling that it’s coming from South Carolina sunshine,wind, or biomass, not foreign oil.” said Greenville summit attendee,Dennis Wiese.
Better air quality is also expected from the effort. A beaming Pochsaid,“It’s a great day for South Carolina. We are very thankful to theWalmart Foundation.”
About Plug In Carolina
Plug In Carolina is a 501c3, non-profit, that was established in 2006. It has the support of SCE&G, Santee Cooper, Progress Energy,Lockhart Power, SC Electric Cooperatives, and SEW-Eurodrive. For thelast six years, Plug In Carolina has educated the public on theenvironmental, economic, and national security benefits of plug invehicles. In 2010, Plug In Carolina received $480,000 in grant money todeploy the electric-vehicle charging network across South Carolina.
