Clean electric transportation and storage technologies provider ECOtality said that it will offer its Blink smart charging stations free to commercial host sites and residents of Chicago, Atlanta and the greater Philadelphia area, as part of its expansion of The EV Project, a public-private research initiative with the Department of Energy to help develop a national EV infrastructure.
According to the company website, the Blink Network is the largest network of electric vehicle smart-charging stations in North America. Members of have access to more than 5,000 on-road charging stations as well as use of the network’s mobile apps, maps, and real-time communication functions.
With the expansion, the company said that The EV Project is now in nine states and 21 major metropolitan areas. To date, the project has gathered more than 33 million miles of EV driver data that will serve to support the deployment of EVs in key markets.
The EV Project comes to the greater Philadelphia region in partnership with energy delivery company PECO. Last June, the utility launched a program offering a $1,000 rebate per unit for government, institutional and non-profit customers installing up to two Level 2 public chargers, and an up to $3,000 rebate for local counties installing a Level 2 public charging station. Qualified residents in the Philadelphia region who own either the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt receive a free residential Blink wall mount charger as well as an installation credit of up to $400, subject to certain conditions.
Across the Delaware River, PSE&G is also joining the initiative in a portion of its service territory. In Chicago ComEd is the utility partner to the EV Project, while in Altanta Georgia Power is the partner.
Hosts of the Blink Network can customize branding and advertising space on charging stations and within Blink’s apps, ECOtality said. Interested participants can register here.
