As sales of electric cars begin to pick up, retailers nationwide are installing electric...
As sales of electric cars begin to pick up, retailers nationwide are installing electric vehicle charging stations in their parking lots so customers can plug in and juice up their vehicles while browsing inside.
Walgreen is one of the leaders in this area, installing chargers at about 800 stores nationwide.
Retailers view the chargers as a good investment for the future, getting ahead of competitors and promoting a green reputation.
At Walgreen "we said, 'Let's lead in this area," said Menno Enters, the Deerfield, Ill., drugstore chain's director of energy and sustainability. "We're all about convenience, and many of our stores are located around commuter routes. We realized that Walgreens was ideally situated to implement a strategy for electric chargers."
Retailers usually get most of the costs covered with subsidies by partnering with a handful of companies such as ECOtality and Coulomb Technologies that specialize in installing and supporting charging stations. These companies have in turn received money from the Energy Department to build up an infrastructure that encourages increased use of electric vehicles.
Story from the LA Times, read it in full here
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