A detailed analysis of 10 electric vehicle (EV) fast charging NRG EVgo Freedom Station sites at Whole Foods Market locations in the San Francisco Bay Area shows a 191 percent increase in EV charging over the last year.
EV drivers also show a significant preference for DC fast charging, 12 to 1 when comparing the number of charging sessions to the Level 2 charging also available at those locations. In September 2015 alone there were nearly 6,900 DC fast charge sessions at those stations.
Whole Foods partnered with NRG EVgo to allow customers to quickly charge their EVs while they shop. Most EV drivers can get a nearly full charge in less than 30 minutes with DC fast charging, meaning that station is in use dependably and almost continuously.
There are now a total of 13 Bay Area Whole Foods Market EVgo Freedom Station locations which offer both the CHAdeMO and CCS DC charging standards as well as Level 2 charging, Whole Foods says. Since they began operation they have had a dramatic impact on the environment:
- 8,770,895 miles driven on electric vehicles powered at these stations
- 360,942 gallons of gasoline usage avoided
- 3,945,274 lbs. of CO2 equivalent emissions avoided–That is nearly 2,000 tons
The Whole Foods Fremont location is the busiest DC fast charger in the national EVgo Network, according to the analysis. In September, it provided 1,452 DC fast charge sessions. which amounts to an average of 45 sessions per day.
In Redwood City, at the Whole Foods Market Freedom Station® the number of fast charge sessions jumped from 21 in March to 393 in September which is an increase of 1700 percent.
In 2013, General Motors and BMW AG engineers conducted tests that found DC “Combo” Fast Charge stations from several suppliers can consistently allow an EV to take on an 80 percent charge in about 20 minutes. This industry-coordinated confirmation of DC Fast Charge hardware and software helped accelerate efforts to roll out SAE Combo DC Fast Charge infrastructure in the coming months.
That same year, CODA Energy partnered with Energy Vault and Growing Energy Labs (GELI), to deploy the first Eco-Station, a solar integrated electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging station optimized by energy storage, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Founder & Principal Consultant, Hower Impact
Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering best-in-class strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.
Published Nov 6, 2015 11am EST / 8am PST / 4pm GMT / 5pm CET