For more information, contact:
Jessica Erickson, AT&T Wisconsin
608-282-7870 (work)
jessica.erickson@att.com
Erick Shambarger, City of Milwaukee
Office of Environmental Sustainability
414-286-8556
Eshamb@milwaukee.gov
http://city.milwaukee.gov/sustainability
City of Milwaukee Unveils New Electric Vehicle Charging Station Just Installed at Discovery World
AFVs Help Promote Cleaner Air, Save on Fuel Costs
MILWAUKEE, WI, Wednesday, April 25, 2012 – In a continued effort to promote cleaner air and use less fuel as gas prices continue to rise, AT&T Wisconsin announced today that it has quadrupled its Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) fleet program in Wisconsin to nearly 200 vehicles since it was first launched in April 2010.
The City of Milwaukee also unveiled one of five planned Electric Vehicle Charging Stations that was recently installed at Discovery World. As Wisconsin celebrates Earth Week, the event highlighted the importance of using AFVs to reduce carbon emissions, improve neighborhood air quality, reduce our country’s dependence on foreign oil, and save on fuel costs.
“Finding cleaner, more efficient methods of powering our fleet is one of the most important steps we can take to help us reduce our environmental impact,” said Scott T. VanderSanden, AT&T Wisconsin State President. “We’re proud that in just a short period of time, we’ve deployed thousands of advanced technology vehicles across the country and quadrupled our Wisconsin fleet, helping to promote cleaner air, use less fuel and lower our operating costs.”
Two new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles from AT&T’s AFV fleet were on display at Discovery World – a 2012 Chevy CNG Van and a 2012 Ford Transit Connect CNG Mini Van – as well as a Chevy Volt plugged into the electric charging station that was provided by Ewald Chevrolet Buck in Oconomowoc.
“Electric vehicles, if widely adopted, have the potential to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and improve neighborhood air quality,” said Matt Howard, Director of the City of Milwaukee’s Office of Environmental Sustainability (OES). “With public charging infrastructure, prospective owners of electric vehicles will have added confidence that they can commute and run errands around town without worrying about running out of power while away from home.”
OES is paving the way for electric vehicles in Milwaukee by installing five public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout the city. The stations are 100% funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through a $5.8 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant.
Currently, the Discovery World site is one of two EV charging stations fully operational and available for public use, with three sites coming soon. A site at City Center is also operational, while stations at Brady Street, the Clarion Hotel and the west side of Milwaukee are in progress. The locations will use ChargePoint stations by Coulomb, which will become part of the national ChargePoint Network that allows drivers to find and reserve changing stations.
AFV vehicles promote cleaner air by running on fuels not made from petroleum, including compressed natural gas (CNG), electricity and hydrogen. AT&T expects to avoid the purchase of 2.5 million gallons of unleaded gasoline in 2012 and each additional year that its fleet of CNG vehicles is in use.
According to a 2009 Center for Automotive Research report, AT&T’s planned alternative fuel vehicle initiative would:
* Save 49 million gallons of gasoline over the 10-year deployment period; and
* Reduce carbon emissions by 211,000 metric tons – the greenhouse gas equivalent of removing 38,600 passenger vehicles from the road for one year.
In 2010, AT&T announced that it would invest up to $565 million to deploy about 15,000 alternative fuel vehicles nationwide over a 10-year period through 2018. As of January 2012, AT&T had deployed more than 6,000 AFVs, including more than 4,500 CNG vehicles and more than 1,600 hybrid electric vehicles. AT&T has also deployed nearly 30 all-electric vehicles. The initiative represents one of the largest U.S. corporate commitment to compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles to date, and includes hybrid and electric vehicles.
AT&T deployed its first AFV vehicle in Wisconsin during Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary in April 2010, with the deployment of 42 CNG vans in the Milwaukee area. Since then, Wisconsin’s fleet has more than quadrupled, including a tripling of AFV vehicles in Milwaukee.
“The use of Alternative Fuel Vehicles is critical to reducing emissions and ensuring clean air in our cities,” said Lorrie Lisek, Executive Director of Wisconsin Clean Cities. “We commend AT&T for its significant investment in AFV vehicles and the City of Milwaukee for paving the way for greater use of electric vehicles in the region.”
A statewide non-profit, Wisconsin Clean Cities collaborates with like-minded companies and groups across the state to promote the use of AFVs and help reduce emissions. The organization also currently partners with the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence on the Wisconsin Clean Transportation Program.
