RESTON, Va. -- Three convenience-store chains will be part of the latest electric-vehicle (EV) fast-charging network rollout by Electrify America.
Sheetz Inc., Casey’s General Stores Inc. and Global Partners LP’s Alltown chain, along with other retailers, are partnering with Electrify America on the installation of EV charging stations at more than 100 sites across the United States. Each of these charging stations will host several EV chargers.
Sheetz, Altoona, Pa., already has four EV charging stations with Electrify America, as well as 13 Supercharger locations with Tesla. It has plans for six more in 2018. But for Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s and Waltham, Mass.-based Alltown, the partnership with Electrify America would represent their first foray into EV charging.
Separate from this announcement, Kum & Go LC, West Des Moines, Iowa, also has a charging station planned with Electrify America in 2018.
Also included as part of this recent announcement: Target Corp., which currently has EV charging stations at 18 stores in California, Hawaii, Minnesota, North Carolina and Texas. It plans to expand this number to more than 100 sites across more than 20 states in the next two years.
Minneapolis-based Target began installing EV charging stations in 2012 with ChargePoint. In 2017, it partnered with Tesla to pilot Supercharger locations. In 2018 and 2019 it will continue installations with ChargePoint, Tesla and Electrify America, and consider adding EV charging stations to all new stores.
On April 18, Walmart announced it was partnering with Electrify America on adding charging stations to more than 100 of its locations in 34 states by June 2019. Once completed, this would more than double the number of charging stations that Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart has in its U.S. store network. The Walmart charging stations would feature cooled-cable 150 to 350 kilowatt (kW) DC Fast Chargers, which can deliver a charge of up to 20 miles of range per minute (about seven times faster than current 50kW DC chargers).
Others partnering with Electrify America on the latest charging-station rollout include Brixmor Property Group, Kimco Realty Corp. and DDR Corp. The charging stations are being installed as part of Electrify America’s first $500 million investment cycle in EV charging infrastructure, education and access, which Volkswagen agreed to in its settlement with U.S. regulators over the diesel emissions scandal. It plans to invest $2 billion over four investment cycles over the next decade.
“These partnerships allow for more convenient charging opportunities for EV drivers,” said Mark McNabb, president and CEO of Electrify America. “We’re purposefully placing our charging stations in locations where people already go, where they are needed, and in places that offer the best customer amenities, such as shopping and food, so that electric-vehicle charging is easier and more appealing. We are delighted to partner with these hosts to offer their customers a new on-site service.”
Electrify America, Reston, Va., plans to install more than 2,000 DC Fast Chargers at up to 484 locations next to retail, dining, parking and other locations. It aims to have all EV charging stations planned for the first investment cycle installed or under development by June 2019.
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