Whole Foods Market Installs Coulomb Technologies Charging Station

Whole Foods Market, the largest retailer of natural and organic foods, with more than 270 stores throughout North America and the UK, has installed its first Coulomb ChargePoint Networked Charging Station for Electric Vehicles (EV). The charging station is located at Whole Foods Market flagship store in Austin, Texas.

Whole Foods Market is committed to supporting wise environmental practices, which means making decisions that positively affect the health of our planet, its people, and its resources. It is our hope that by offering electric vehicle charging we can support alternative transportation and help Austin residents decrease their environmental impact.

—Mark Dixon, Whole Foods Market

The Whole Foods Market charging station is a part of the ChargePoint Network, which is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and provides authentication, management, and real-time control for the networked electric vehicle charging stations. ChargePoint Network features include:

• Charging status by SMS text or email notification;
• Location of unoccupied charging stations via smart phones;
• Authenticated access to eliminate energy theft;
• Authorized energizing for safety;
• Smart Grid integration for utility load management with future V2G capabilities; and
• A ChargePoint iPhone App.

The network of electric vehicle charging stations is accessible to all plug-in drivers by making a toll free call to the 24/7 number on each charging station, or signing up for a ChargePoint Network monthly access plan and obtaining a ChargePassâ„¢smart card. Other future payment options include using any smart (RFID) credit/debit card to authorize a session or using a standard credit or debit card at a remote payment station (RPS) to pay for charging sessions.