Google has expanded its electric vehicle infrastructure to over 220 charging stations with the addition of 71 faster, Level 2 chargers from Coulomb Technologies.
The charging stations will used by staff-owned electric vehicles, as well as by GFleet, the company’s growing employee car-sharing program, which includes Chevrolet Volts and Nissan LEAFs. Google is planning an additional 250 charging stations and has a goal to make five percent of campus parking EV-ready.
The company will manage its charging stations with Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network, which offers controlled access via smartcards. Online station management will help Google track and report energy usage, greenhouse gas and gasoline savings data.
The ChargePoint Network provides 24/7 station network monitoring to ensure network services are always available, and the ability to tie into energy, building and other business management systems, Coulomb says. Charging stations contain utility-grade meters and can communicate with other smart grid systems, enabling demand response and time-of-use pricing, the company adds.
Google has created a video on its Green Blog detailing its green transportation initiatives, which include biodiesel campus shuttles and solar panels on buses. More than 3,000 Google staff ride a shuttle bus to the company’s Mountain View headquarters every day.
“Google continues to drive innovation and leadership in the workplace. The results of their clean transportation efforts are remarkable, taking the equivalent of over 2,000 cars off the road every day,” Coulomb executive vice president Bret Sewell said.
“We’re only one company among many, so we hope our green transportation initiatives serve as a model for other companies to incorporate sustainability programs into their own workplaces,” Google’s technical program manager for electric transportation Rolf Schreiber said.
