By Jon LeSage
As part of its sustainability mission and as an employee incentive, Google is installing electric vehicle charging stations at its Campus in Mountain View, Calif. To get talented, hard-working technology specialists to come and work for you and stay in a competitive marketplace like Silicon Valley, charging stations are an attractive perk to offer them.
At its Mountain View Campus, Google had 400 Level 2 dual head charging ports, and 168 Level 1, 110 volt ports, with plans to install DC fast chargers (as of late August). Google has been installing 15 to 20 charging stations a month, said Rolf Schreiber, Manager of EV Initiatives. It’s getting 100% positive responses from employees. “There are disgruntled spouses at places where they don’t have charging stations,” Schreiber said.
The company is being recognized for its commitment. On Aug. 23, the Bay Area Climate Collaborative and Silicon Valley Leadership Group named Google the Most EV-Ready Business during the 2012 Ready, Set, Charge! Bay Area Electric Vehicle (EV) Readiness Awards. On July 31, Calstart hosted a workshop at the Google’s Mountain View Campus aimed at bringing EV charging infrastructure to workplaces throughout the state. The event was keynoted by U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s David Sandalow and Dr. David Danielson. (Click here to read more about Calstart’s EV Employer Initiative.)
Google has about 32,000 employees globally, with about half of them working at one of Google’s 40 buildings in Mountain View. The company will be bringing in more electric vehicles to its fleet and may need higher capacity charging in service bays. Google uses low speed Gem cars in its maintenance service fleet and is thinking about bringing in electric delivery trucks for its employee food kitchens, Schreiber said.
