The EV Project is managed by San Francisco-based ECOtality, a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies.
Cracker Barrel [image-nocss] is working with ECOtality to install Blink electric vehicle chargers at select locations in "The Tennessee Triangle," the 425-mile stretch of interstate highway that connects Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga.
A total of 24 Cracker Barrel locations will have chargers. Guests will be able to get the recommended charge 80% in under a half hour at the 12 Cracker Barrel locations that will have the DC Fast Charging stations, in Athens, Cleveland, Cookeville, Crossville, East Ridge, Farragut, Harriman, Kimball, Lebanon, Manchester, Murfreesboro and Nashville/Stewart's Ferry Pike. Guests will be able to recharge in about the same amount of time it takes to order and eat a meal.
And 12 locations that will have the Blink EV L2 chargers, which are slower than the DC Fast Charging stations. They will be in and around the cities of Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga to support more local users.
Plans are to start installation of the electric vehicle chargers in the spring of 2011 and to be completed within a few months.
"Cracker Barrel was founded along the interstate highways with the traveler in mind and has always tried to anticipate what our guests might want and need as they stop in for some good country cookin' and to experience genuine Southern hospitality," said Cracker Barrel chairman and CEO Michael A. Woodhouse. "Becoming a leader in The EV Project continues our tradition of striving to anticipate and meet our guests' expectations and, at the same time, allows us to participate in a meaningful way in the nation's explorations of energy independence."
He added, "While ownership of electric cars is small compared with traditional vehicles, there's great curiosity about them, and so we expect our guests will be quite interested in seeing these charging stations when they stop in with us.... This is a way of showing that Cracker Barrel is focused on the future even as we provide guests with a genuinely hospitable experience reminiscent of times past."
Installing EV charging stations at select Cracker Barrel locations keeps the Cracker Barrel brand relevant to changing times, but it is also a nod to the company's past. Woodhouse said that the original Cracker Barrel locations sold gasoline because founder Danny Evins was an oil jobber who wanted to sell more gasoline as well as to offer the food and hospitality he grew up on in rural Tennessee. Fueling pumps were removed in the early 70s during the oil embargo, and Woodhouse sees the new electric car charging stations as being consistent with the company's roots.
The Blink Level 2 and DC Fast Charging stations incorporate the Blink design and provide intelligent, user-friendly features to intuitively and safely charge electric vehicles, including fully interactive color touchscreens and web-based information delivery via the Blink Network. A Blink Network smartphone application allows users to access charge station locations and GPS navigation, as well as charge status and notifications of completed or interrupted charging.
The Blink Network is an infrastructure of charging stations through which consumers can become members to receive various benefits for using commercial charging stations at locations across the country. Charging costs will vary based on local equipment operating costs and level of membership. While Blink Network membership does come with specific advantages, any EV driver will be able to charge at a Blink station through a variety of options including interoperable RFID cards or fobs, smartphone applications, mobile phone based payment options and credit cards. The Blink Network will continue to employ secure and convenient methods of authentication and payment at Blink stations that leverage its network connected and over-the-air upgradeable two-way touchscreen interface to ensure ECOtality can service a wide array of the EV customer base long term.
"Our announcement with Cracker Barrel is an important step towards building the rich EV infrastructure needed to promote the consumer adoption of EVs," said Don Karner, president of ECOtality North America. "Our plan for The EV Project was to create an interconnected network of EV infrastructure that would allow EV drivers to live their lives without limitations."
ECOtality is project manager of The EV Project and will oversee the installation of 15,000 commercial and residential charging stations in 16 cities and major metropolitan areas in six states and the District of Columbia. The project will provide an EV infrastructure to support the deployment of 8,300 EVs. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through a federal stimulus grant of $114.8 million, made possible by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The grants are matched by private investment, bringing the total value of the project to approximately $230 million.
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