CHICAGO –May 17, 2011. Coulomb
Technologies today announced that the executive mansion in Springfield,
Ill. has installed a residential ChargePoint® charging station for
electric vehicles. The installation of the ChargePoint station marks
the first time a Governor of any state in the US has installed a
networked residential charging station for electric vehicles. The State
of Illinois will use the charging station to fuel new electric vehicles
and will be used by government staff. Installation of the charging
station further extends the Governor’s
Executive Order 11 (2009) that
addresses a healthier environment for the state of Illinois. The
ChargePoint charging station was donated and installed by
Carbon Day Automotive and WindFree in Chicago.
Specifically EO11 was written to reduce the
environmental impact of Illinois state government operations. EO11
declares ‘Illinois agencies are major consumers of electricity and fuel,
spending over $100 million each year to conduct activities at more than
1,500 owned and leased sites, and maintaining more than 12,000 vehicles
traveling over 186 million miles last year; and the State seeks to
employ cost-effective methods to reduce the consumption of energy and
fuel, and the associated emissions of greenhouse gases.’
“As we work to increase green practices and
the use of renewable energy throughout the state, it is only fitting
that this movement should start here at the people’s house,” said
Governor Pat Quinn. “I would like to thank Carbon Day Automotive and
WindFree in Chicago for helping us drive smarter in Illinois.”
Governor Quinn previously installed energy
efficient LED lighting, rain barrels, solar panels and most recently a
community vegetable garden to make the executive mansion greener and
more sustainable.
The networked charging station managed by
the ChargePoint® Network and installed at the Mansion will provide the
Governor and his staff an advanced software system including 24/7 driver
assistance, measuring of greenhouse gas savings and energy (kWh) used,
the ability to send SMS and email alerts for: Vehicle Fully Charged,
Plug-Out Detection, Ground Fault Detection (GFCI Trip), and Over-Current
Detection.