Driving clean energy innovation

The city of Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, has partnered with Schneider Electric and Fort Collins-based Spirae Inc to roll out the area’s first electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. As part of their innovative FortZED (Zero Energy District) project, the city is phasing in EVlink charging stations for installation at the city’s fleet lot, select public parking facilities and private business parking lots.

“Fort Collins owns and operates a progressive municipal electric utility,” said the city’s chief financial officer Mike Freeman. “Our businesses and residents have a history of taking the lead on energy conservation and energy-efficiency practices. Through our partnership with Schneider Electric and Spirae Inc, we are continuing that tradition by rolling out the area’s first EV charging stations.”

Proposals to expand the vehicle charging infrastructure include partnerships with local car dealerships selling EVs.

The project is the result of collaboration between the City of Fort Collins, the utility, large area businesses and Colorado State University. The goal is to help all stakeholders leverage multidisciplinary expertise in order to address the challenge of building a reliable EV charging infrastructure. The success of the initiative in Fort Collins demonstrates the viability of EV charging technology for individuals, businesses and government agencies worldwide.

Effective EV charging involves more than simply supplying electrical current to a vehicle battery. A comprehensive solution offers safety, ease of use and technology with the ability to balance a vehicle’s power demand with the utility’s ability to supply reliable and cost-effective power. EVlink solutions utilise advanced engineering and multilevel networking capability to help meet these goals.

The EVlink solution extends from the device layer to the business management layer. Advanced software and communications ensures that EVlink provides useful and relevant information to both users and suppliers. This includes data such as station location and availability, business statistics such as aggregate usage data and billing figures, plus demand management and power availability information. EVlink is an integrated solution, engineered to provide customers like the City of Fort Collins advantages in flexibility, adaptability and durability. Charging stations can feature a choice of single-point, multipoint and quick‑charge terminals and are engineered to deliver safe and secure access for EV owners.

A major challenge with an EV charging infrastructure is to effectively integrate with the local utility such that charging does not adversely affect the supply of power. By anticipating smart grid advances, the embedded intelligence and energy management capabilities of an EVlink solution can help utilities and EV owners to work together to cope with the expected surge in power demand. EVlink charging stations will seamlessly and cost-effectively communicate with a central management system to help EV drivers and charging infrastructure owners make smarter energy decisions.

To encourage a rapid adoption of electric vehicles by public agencies and private companies alike, Schneider Electric’s EcoXpert training and certification program is providing electrical contractors with the knowledge they need to support the installation and maintenance of EVlink charging stations and to capitalise on opportunities in the rapidly expanding energy efficiency and clean power market.