Walgreens Leading The Charge To Install Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment

Last year, pharmacy giant Walgreens announced its intention of installing electric vehicle charging equipment at 800 of its locations throughout the US by the year’s end.   According to a Reuters article dated July 21, 2011, the earliest installations took place last spring in Dallas, Texas.  Other early installations occurred at some Walgreens locations in Chicago.

About 60 more locations in Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, and Chicago got charging equipment, as well as stores in Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, DC.  Locations in Florida, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington State were also included in the plan.

The charging equipment is compatible with not only electric cars from major manufacturers (Like the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt), but also with the generally smaller LSVs (Low Speed Vehicles) and NEVs (Neighborhood Electric Vehicles).

EV drivers will find two types of devices at Walgreens – a high-speed direct current charger capable of adding 30 miles of range in about 10 minutes and a Level 2 charger capable of adding about 25 miles of range per charging hour.

Walgreens now owns 40% of the public EV charging stations in the US, making them the leader among retail installations according to the US Department Of Energy.  Other retailers are also planning major EV charging equipment installations in the near future.