This blog was written by Jennifer Rennicks, former Senior Director of Policy & Communications at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Guest Blog | March 24, 2015 | Electric Vehicles, North Carolina, Solar

As part of SACE’s ongoing commitment and efforts to demonstrate clean energy technology, we have now installed a new electric vehicle (EV) charging station at our Asheville office.

The unit is a GE Durastation dual cord EV charger installed in partnership with Brightfield Transportation Solutions.  The level 2 charging station is capable of charging a vehicle from 0-100% in ~4-8 hours assuming a 24kwh battery. The station is located just off I-240 in downtown Asheville. It is open to the public and currently free to charge.

The opportunity to add a charging station at our Asheville office was an obvious next step to our efforts to green our offices. Our Asheville office is also powered by solar power from a 7.8 kW-dc (6.9 kW-ac) system, making the charging station a way to help Ashevillians and passersby fuel up their EVs with clean energy.

SACE also has two Blink charging stations at our Knoxville office installed as part of the Department of Energy’s EV project. The addition of the Asheville EV charger will also allow SACE staff to charge our plug-in hybrid company car, a Chevrolet Volt, and is part of SACE’s overall efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and support our local communities.

Electric vehicles (EVs) like the Nissan LEAF, Chevrolet Volt, BMW i3, Ford Focus Electric, and many others are meeting the needs of most Americans today, cutting oil use, reducing emissions and supporting local economic development. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), EVs have the potential to reduce U.S oil use by 1.5 million barrels a day by 2035 and save drivers thousands of dollars in fuel–up to $13,000 over the lifetime of the vehicle over a gasoline vehicle.

EVs get all or some of their power from electricity. However, how the electricity powering the vehicle is generated is critical in determining the overall emissions reduction of the vehicle. Thus, increasing renewable energy generation in the Southeast, like at our offices, is helping improve the benefits of EVs.

We are proud to be hosting more opportunities for people to drive greener. For more information, visit our website.

Please come get charged up on sunshine in Asheville!