California Energy Commission awards grant for Bay Area Charge Ahead Project, Phase One

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, USA, June 19, 2014 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Bay Area Climate Collaborative announced that the California Energy Commission today awarded $491,290 for the deployment of EV charging infrastructure. A consortium of EV industry leaders developed the Bay Area Charge Ahead Project to deploy 29 charging stations -- and a total of 78 individual charge ports -- across the peninsula and south bay. The consortium led by the Bay Area Climate Collaborative includes ChargePoint, ABM, the EV Communities Alliance, and 9 site hosts.

The Bay Area Charge Ahead project was developed with the support of two nonprofit leaders in electric vehicles (EV) and clean energy work – the Bay Area Climate Collaborative (BACC), and the EV Communities Alliance. "This deployment is a major step forward towards widespread public charging, making it easier than ever to drive electric throughout the Bay," according to the BACC Executive Director, Rafael Reyes, "Reaching our target of 100,000 EVs on the road by 2020 not only will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas pollutants but also support the economy by ensuring $120 million or more is in people’s pockets instead of going out the door for fuel."

"ABM and ChargePoint are proud to be deploying these EV charging stations together in Silicon Valley," says Cameron Funk, Director Business Development for ABM; and Richard Lowenthal, ChargePoint co-founder, in a joint statement. ChargePoint is the established national leader in EV charging station design and manufacturing, with more than 18,000 stations deployed globally, while ABM is a North American leader in charge station installation.

The publicly available charging stations will be deployed at locations in the cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, as well as San Mateo County and Stanford University. The Bay Area has nearly 40 percent of the plug-in electric vehicles in California, and public charging enables more miles to be travelled with clean electric drive vehicles. Over 10 years, this phase of the Bay Area Charge Ahead project is expected to result in net reductions of over 10 million kilograms of CO2, compared to the global warming pollution of regular gas vehicles.

"Our residents and businesses are early adopters of alternative and cleaner transportation, so this program is another great way for us to support those initiatives," said Mayor Chris Clark of Mountain View. "Adding a new public charging area to our downtown and in civic centers throughout the region is beneficial for everyone."

The lead applicant for the grant is the Bay Area Climate Collaborative, a public/private partnership that works to accelerate clean energy implementation in the Bay Area. San Jose based EV equipment maker ChargePoint will provide the charging stations; ABM will install them; and the EV Communities Alliance will provide strategic support.

About the Bay Area Climate Collaborative
The Bay Area Climate Collaborative (BACC) is a public-private initiative of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group established by the Mayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland to accelerate the clean energy economy. Major partners include Bank of America, PG&E, Environmental Defense Fund, industry partners including ChargePoint, and local governments representing over 70 percent of the Bay Area population. The BACC is driving electric vehicle innovation through co-facilitation of the EV Strategic Council, the executive forum driving the region’s vision to be the “EV Capital of the US”; co-managing the Experience Electric EV marketing campaign with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission; facilitation of 150 electric vehicles to municipal fleets; and development of Ready, Set, Charge, California! A Guide to EV-Ready Communities delivering key guidance on EV preparedness. For more information on the BACC, please visit: www.baclimate.org.

About ABM
ABM (NYSE: ABM) is a leading provider of facility solutions with revenues of $4.8 billion and 100,000+ employees in over 350 offices deployed throughout the United States and various international locations. ABM’s comprehensive capabilities include facilities engineering, commercial cleaning, energy solutions, HVAC, electrical, landscaping, parking and security, provided through stand-alone or integrated solutions.
ABM Energy is dedicated to providing technologies and solutions that reduce energy consumption and operating costs as well as improve sustainability – from state-of-the-art building controls and high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment to electric vehicle charging stations and renewable energy systems. For more information please visit www.abm.com/energy.

About ChargePoint
ChargePoint is the largest and most open electric vehicle (EV) charging network in the world, with more than 18,000 charging locations. Ranked #1 by leading independent research firm, Navigant Research, ChargePoint makes advanced hardware and best-in-class cloud based software. ChargePoint’s open network is utilized by many leading EV hardware makers and encourages all EV charging manufacturers to join.

ChargePoint’s real-time network information including the availability of charging locations throughout the nation is available through the ChargePoint mobile app, online and via the navigation systems in top-selling EVs including the new BMW i3 and the Nissan LEAF. Every 9 seconds, a driver connects to a ChargePoint station and by initiating over 5 million charging sessions, ChargePoint drivers have saved over 4.3 million gallons of gasoline and driven 100 million gas free miles.

For more information about ChargePoint, visit www.chargepoint.com.

About the EV Communities Alliance
The EV Communities Alliance promotes the mass adoption of EVs in California by developing EV-friendly policies, programs, and resources at the state, regional, and local level. The Alliance brings together public/private partnerships to accelerate development of EV charging infrastructure, build EV awareness, and plan for the EV transition, in alignment with the state’s goal to ensure that 80% of all vehicles are electric drive by the year 2050.

Press release courtesy of Online PR Media: http://bit.ly/1qwujNt

Rafael Reyes
Bay Area Climate Collaborative
408 409-5534
email us here