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Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley was among the state, local and federal officials that gather in Bethesda Monday to mark the installation of a new, solar-powered electric motor vehicle charging station.
The station is situated outside the SunTrust bank at 10401 Old Georgetown street. The 18-foot, 1,410-watt “solar power pole”-which charges two electric vehicles, is the first electric vehicle charging station in the state to feature sun-tracking technology, using a GPS system to move solar panels mounted on a pole with the position of the sun.
Designed to have a small footprint to fit in urban environments, the pole was developed by Columbia-based engineering and manufacturing firm Advanced Technology and Research Corp.
The pole was manufactured with the help of a $1.1 million Clean Energy Economic Development Initiative grant, administered through the Maryland Energy Administration and the U.S. sector of Energy using federal stimulus dollars, according to a news release.
As electric auto mobile gradually become more popular, one of the largest challenges for owners is an infrastructure to support them, officials said Monday. O’Malley drove home the significance of investing in new technologies..like the solar-powered charging station..in order to both promote sustainable practices in Maryland and to stimulate the local economy through green jobs.
“We chose to pay out in ‘ATR’because it’s an investment in Maryland, it’s an investment in jobs, it’s an investment in innovation, it’s an investment in the clean, green economy that all of us want for our children,” O’Malley said.
The purchasing price and fitting of the station was between $15,000 and $20,000, according to Jackson Yang, originator and ‘CEO’ of Advanced Technology and Research Corp. Yang said his company developed the technology in response to O’Malley’s call last year to have 20 percent of Maryland’s energy generated from renewable sources by 2022.
“I always knew about electric car chargers, and I wanted to be able to provide that here,” said Alvin L. “Tripp” Aubinoe III, owner and president of Alvin L. Aubinoe, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-area administration company. Aubinoe, who manages the SunTrust bank and Wildwood Medical Center properties at 10401 Old Georgetown Road, purchased the charging station for the site from Advanced Technology and Research Corp.
Aubinoe said he eventually hopes to install electric vehicle charging stations at all of the about 50 properties his company manages..and he hopes to inspire others to follow his lead.
Aubinoe said he will soon file plans with the Maryland-National Capital Park and plan Commission for a 60-unit, “green” residential rental unit building at the same site, where he also hopes to install electric vehicle chargers.
“The demand is not there yet, but it will be eventually,” he said.
Article Source: sooperarticles.com/home-improvement-articles/energy-efficiency-articles/new-solar-powered-electric-auto-mobile-charging-station-debuts-bethesda-586973.html
Author: Khurram Jamil