Community Corner

Electric Car Charging Stations Set for Pilot Project Start in October

The Brandon Regional Library is out, but Greater Brandon owners of electric cars will find charging stations at the Bloomingdale Regional Library and at Hillsborough County's Environmental Protection Commission offices on Queen Palm Drive.

Brandon’s loss is Bloomingdale’s gain but it won’t be much further of a trek for electric car owner looking to get a charge at a local library.

As part of a pilot project, the Bloomingdale Regional Library will be among the Hillsborough County sites that in October will be getting electric charging stations.

The stations had been scheduled to be installed at the Brandon Regional Library, but officials, noting the perennial shortage of parking there, were not apt to give up the two parking spaces needed for the electric charge stations.

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Also in Greater Brandon, a charging station will be put in place in the parking lot of the county's Environmental Protection Commison on Queen Palm Drive.

The Bloomingdale charge stations will be located in front of two parking spaces near the air-conditioning units on the east side of the building.

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Led by Commissioner Mark Sharpe, county commissioners approved a pilot project to sponsor the charging stations to jumpstart developing the infrastructure for the anticipated increase in electric vehicle use by consumers seeking cleaner and cheaper energy alternatives.

The ChargePoint charging stations themselves, as well as maintenance, are free during this pilot project. Hillsborough County will pay for their installation and electrical usage.

Each charging station can be activated by ChargePass Card, credit card or using a smart phone. If using a smart phone, there is an application for the phone to show all charging stations in the area and if they are being used at that time, said Randy M. Klindworth, energy manager of the county’s facilities management services.

"Hillsborough County received the charging stations from Chargepoint through a grant from the federal government," said Randy M. Klindworth, energy manager for the county's Facilities Management Services. "Each charging station is capable of charging two vehicles at a time, one on fast charge and one on slow charge."

“It's important to note that for every charging station that's installed, there's a creation of three jobs," added Sharpe.
 
Each station will be able to charge electric vehicles from all major car makers.

“Cleaner energy produced right here in America will, over time, help make us less dependent on foreign oil,” said Sharpe. “The way we drive and how we get our energy is going to change as well, and we’ve got to be on the cutting edge.”

The pilot program will end in January 2014. Then, commissioners can vote to keep the existing units and pay for their maintenance, upkeep and connection to the charging station network.

To see where all the charge stations are across the country, log on to www.mychargepoint.net. To learn about all the Green Hillsborough efforts, go to www.hillsboroughcounty.org/green/.

ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING STATIONS Location No.of Stations Address Bloomingdale Regional Library 2 1906 Bloomingdale Ave. Environmental Protection Commission 1 3629 Queen Palm Drive Hillsborough Community College 1 4001 West Tampa Bay Blvd. Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library 1 3910 South Manhattan Ave. Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library 1 3910 South Manhattan Ave. Pierce Street Parking Garage 2 319 North Pierce St. St. Pete Times Forum 2 401 Channelside Drive Town 'n Country Commons 1 7606 Paula Drive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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