Workplace Charging Reaches New Heights--First Nationwide Summit

Last Tuesday (November 2014), the U.S. Department of Energy Workplace Charging Challenge held its first ever Summit, bringing together about 100 partner organizations, ambassadors, and other interested stakeholders. At the Summit, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Assistant Secretary Dave Danielson announced the Challenge now has more than 150 partners, a vast increase from the original 13 partners less than two years ago. The 61 partners that joined the Challenge since the last new member announcement were highlighted at a separate event and press release issued by the White House. During the White House event the Challenge’s newest ambassador, Edison Electric Institute, launched an Employee Adoption and Education Initiative to encourage its member utilities to install electric vehicle charging for their employees.

During the closing plenary of the Summit, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Reuben Sarkar provided special recognition to select Challenge partners for demonstrating leadership in supporting the development of the national plug-in electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Partners included: 3M; Alameda County, CA; AVL Power Engineering; Bentley Systems; Bloomberg LP; BookFactory; Broward County, FL; Capital One; Chrysler; City of Sacramento; ClipperCreek; Concurrent Design; Dominion Resources; General Motors; Google; Kohl's Department Stores; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; lynda.com; OSRAM SYLVANIA; Raytheon; Samsung Electronics; San Diego Gas & Electric; SAS Institute; Schneider Electric; The Coca-Cola Company; The Hartford; University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center and Verizon.

At the Summit, DOE also released its first ever Workplace Charging Challenge Progress Update. Based on a survey of partners, the Update shows that Challenge partners are providing access to PEV charging stations for more than 600,000 employees at more than 300 worksites all across the country. These charging stations provide 6.7 million kWh annually, which saves more than 800,000 gallons of gasoline and 5.5 million pounds of GHG per year. That’s the equivalent of removing nearly 1,500 average cars from U.S. roads.

Other new resources available at the Summit include:
    •    A toolkit to inform employees about workplace charging
    •    A charging station procurement guide
    •    A guide to meeting Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for workplace charging stations.
 
Learn more about the Summit through an EERE blog post on the event or the Challenge’s website.

Sarah Olexsak
WorkplaceCharging  AT  ee.Doe.Gov Energy (replace AT with the proper symbol before emailing)

Efficiency & Renewable Energy

U.S. Department of Energy

1000 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20585

Phone: 202-586-2149 | Workplace Charging Challenge