First Supermarket Location Nationwide

The first networked electric car charging station in Bellingham, the first north of Hillsboro, OR and the first at a grocery store anywhere in the United States, debuted at the newly remodeled Market at Fairhaven in December.

The station, which is free to use, is a place where electric car vehicles can plug in while shopping at The Market, recharging for the trip home or future travel around town.

"We decided to offer the charging station because of the greater Bellingham community's interest in green technology and the large number of people who already drive hybrids," Kevin Weatherill, President/CEO of The Markets, explained.  He added that the expected growth of plug-in cars raises the critical question:  Where will these cars be plugged in?

The networked charging station was developed by Coulomb Technologies of Campbell, CA, the leader in electric vehicle charging station infrastructure.  Charge Northwest is the infrastructure agent and authorized distributor of ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations from Coulomb in the Northwest.

These early models of all-electric cars have a limited range, requiring the operators to "top off" their battery when away from their normal overnight charging locations.  Studies show that 80% of electric vehicle car owners want to charge more than once a day.  Having a convenient public charging location, like The Market at Fairhaven's, will ease the way for electric cars into the community.

Generally, it takes four to six hours to fully charge a completely depleted battery, but most electric vehicle owners will use the opportunity to "top off" their car while running errands.  A half hour of shopping at The Market will result in about a 10% charge, which is enough to add another 10 miles or so.

"Many of our customers shop several times a week, so it's easy to plug in while they are stopping by," Weatherill explained.  "Having a charging station in our parking lot, clearly marked, just makes good sense."

And why electric vehicles?  President Obama has challenged the automakers to produce one million electric vehicles, road-ready, by 2015.  Early adopters are already converting hybrids to all-electric.  Using electricity is a clean solution to the problem of green house gases, and also reduces the dependence on foreign oil gas-powered cars require.

Progressive communities, such as Bellingham, WA, which has undertaken a Community Energy Challenge (reducing substantially the area's consumption of electricity and natural gas) are embracing electric vehicles.

"Having a free community charging station, whether it's for our local customers, or people traveling the I-5 corridor who need a place to "re-fuel", is important," Weatherill noted.  "We are proud to be able to offer this service as part of our ongoing commitment to environmentally-sensitive iniatives, such as our S.O.R.T. It! recycling program and our "pay it forward" reusable bags."

There are estimated to be about 1,000 electric vehicles in Washington, which includes conversions, plug-in hybrid conversions, neighborhood electric vehicles and electric motorbikes.

For more information, check out the map with ChargePoint network locations:  www.mychargepoint.net .  Visit www.coulombtech.com and www.chargenw.com for details about the technology and the charging network.