350Green is planning a national network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations with fast chargers. Starting with its first project in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company plans to install and operate stations across urban retail shopping centers and other places near where EV drivers live and work. This approach aims to address two of the most vexing challenges facing widespread adoption of EVs: range anxiety and access to a garage for overnight charging.
The company envisions offering both Level 2 (220v) and DC Fast (480v) options, depending on location and use. The PowerDock is a stand-alone unit that offers up to four simultaneous charges; the Express Plaza can be configured as a standalone unit, or part of a solar carport for maximum energy efficiency and reduced grid load. When it installs two or more fast chargers at a location, it will install energy storage to prevent grid overload.
Because our public charging stations with fast chargers will be widely and conveniently located near where residents live and work, EV ownership will suddenly become an option for all, regardless of whether they have access to charging in a personal garage.
—Mariana Gerzanych, 350Green’s founder and CEO
The Bay Area project is funded in part by a grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) as part of its “Spare the Air” program, which also aims to make owning an electric vehicle in the Bay Area a viable option for residents.
350Green will build and operate fast charging station plazas in six cities around the Bay area: Albany, Menlo Park, Milbrae, Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Sunnyvale. All of the plazas will be installed in the parking lots of select, high-traffic retail locations, at no cost to the host location.
The company will announce specific locations in the coming weeks, and construction, operation and management of its Bay Area network of direct-current (DC) fast chargers and Level 2 chargers will be complete by June 2012. Additional markets around the country in which 350Green will build networks will be determined in collaboration with the company’s city and state partners, as well as stakeholders in the various communities.