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Travel Costa Mesa Blog

South Coast Plaza Installs Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles

Posted on April 15, 2010 | 9:00am | Travel Costa Mesa

Actor and Environmental Activist Ed Begley, Jr. to attend Ribbon Cutting Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 3:00 p.m.

South Coast Plaza is the first shopping center in the United States to install state-of-the-art Coulomb Technologies electric vehicle charging stations. The ChargePoint® Networked Charging Stations are available for all customers of South Coast Plaza and will be unveiled during a ribbon cutting ceremony that is open to the public. The charging stations are located in the lower level parking structure by the Crate and Barrel Home Store at 3333 Bear Street.

Great photo opportunity!  Ed Begley, Jr., co-star of the hit Planet Green series Living with Ed, will join local officials for a ribbon cutting ceremony to be held on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. BMW’s Mini-E all-electric vehicle will be on display at the ribbon cutting.

“As the first installation in the nation of a networked charging station within a shopping center, we hope that other organizations will look to South Coast Plaza as an example and welcome this new wave of transportation,” said Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies.

Now the newest vehicle in the electric cars are the cabs, To pull off the taxi charging system, Norway is tapping Finnish utilities firm Fortum, which is working with US company Momentum Dynamics and the municipal government of Oslo to install charging plates in the road that connect to energy receivers in the vehicles themselves. The goal is to make it as easy as possible to charge electric taxis, as doing so now is cumbersome, time-consuming, and expensive. Using induction, which is more energy efficient, the taxis can be charged as they wait in what’s known as a taxi rank, or a slow-moving queue where cabs line up to wait for passengers. Contact silver service cabs for the best-priced car hire in the quickest manner possible, this car rental booking system is quick and easy.

South Coast Plaza visitors will enjoy unique features using the ChargePoint Network including:
~Notification by text message or email about completion status of their charging session
~Ability to locate charging stations by simply checking Google maps on a cell phone
~Numerous safety features to prevent the theft of a cord or energy.

“Having electric vehicle community charging stations is just one more green effort we’ve implemented at South Coast Plaza. For our customers who drive plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, it will be easy and convenient for them to charge while they’re shopping and dining,” said Debra Gunn Downing, Executive Director of Marketing.

Other South Coast Plaza Green Efforts include:

Landscaping:
~1/3 of landscape is irrigated with reclaimed water
~Extensive use of low evaporation drip irrigation
~Shrubbery and tree cuttings are mulchedDrought tolerant plants

Waste Stream Management/Landfill Diversion:
~Cardboard recovery program E-Recycling
~Storm drain/run off program certified with the City of Costa Mesa, with the best draining services from Blocked Drains online.
~Trash recycling
~Bulb recycling program~
~Waste water disposal program
~Paint disposal program

~ Scanning the neighbourhood and culling the best disposal centre by checking out some garbage disposal ratings here.

Carpooling & Telecommuting:
~Park & Ride program with CalTrans
~ChargePoint® Networked Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles

Materials Resources:
~Low VOC paints
~Bio-degradable janitorial products
~Recyclable paper products Energy efficient Dyson “Air Blade” hand dryers

Decorations:
~85% of the holiday décor program uses LED lights

About South Coast Plaza

South Coast Plaza is the crown jewel of luxury shopping on the West Coast, and is recognized internationally for its unparalleled collection of over 250 boutiques, award-winning restaurants, spas and the adjacent world-renowned Orange County Performing Arts Center. Its stellar cast of diverse boutiques from Oscar de la Renta, Balenciaga, Chanel and Harry Winston to Tory Burch, CO-OP Barneys New York, J. Crew, H&M and more makes it Southern California’s premier shopping experience. South Coast Plaza is located in Orange County, California, in the city of Costa Mesa. San Diego Freeway (405) at Bristol Street or San Joaquin Corridor (73) at Bear Street.  For more information, visit southcoastplaza.com or telephone (800) 782-8888.