Microsoft is not a company new to environmental friendliness; if anything, their “Microsoft Green Blog” proves the point every week with the latest information on how the company is trying to improve environmental sustainability. This week, the Redmond boys announced how their Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment pilot program has expanded around the campus.
In June of 2011, Microsoft decided to “wire up” the campus for electric vehicles. The goal of the 2011 pilot program was to provide solutions for Microsoft employees and vendors. At the time, the company had 12 ChargePoint stations on campus; each station was capable of charging two electric vehicles at one time.
Charging stations at Microsoft aren’t enough unless they employ high-tech solutions. The twelve charging stations used smartcards to identify customers using the “electronic pumps”. In addition, customers could login to an online portal and access information regarding charging information and electricity costs.
Two years later the program has continued to expand on the Redmond campus. There are currently 18 charging stations and 11 different locations to fill up your favorite electric vehicle. The new stations can accommodate both electric cars and electric scooters.
According to Microsoft, in the last few months, the company has seen the greatest adoption rate of the new systems and the greatest number of increases per month since the program began.
At this time, more than 30 new electric vehicles are registered by Microsoft employees each month. The demand on campus for electric charging stations has been so great that there are plans to add more stations within the next 12 months.
While adoption of electric vehicles in the United States has seen little growth, the employees at Microsoft certainly have a green thumb and care to show it.
Do you currently drive an electric/hybrid vehicle or are you still all gas?
Source: Microsoft Green Blog
