Ford Motor Company announced yesterday that it will begin expanding its charging station network for employees across the United States and Canada. As it stands, the automaker provides 145 plug-in vehicle charging stations at 43 different Ford offices and production facilities, with plans to install at least an additional 20 for employee use in the near future.
Of course, for we who don’t work for Ford Motor Company, this is largely a symbolic gesture. But it does at least demonstrate Ford’s ongoing commitment to clean, green energy. Besides this charging station expansion, Ford teamed up with DTE (Detroit Edison) Energy to construct one of Michigan’s largest solar arrays at the automaker’s Dearborn headquarters earlier this year, and Ford’s Associate Director of Environmental and Regulatory Planning Cynthia Williams is meeting with California Governor Jerry Brown and a group of top business executives in Los Angeles this week to discuss the plug-in vehicle market, green car incentives, and charging infrastructure.
Says Williams: “Providing a charging network at Ford facilities not only benefits our employees, but builds upon our commitment to the electrification program and developing environmentally conscious vehicles. Ford is striving to deliver quality products and sustainable manufacturing, and to make eco-conscious vehicles easier to use.”
Ford’s employee charging station network only first appeared in 2014, but since that time, those stations alone have saved over 6,000 gallons of gas, delivering almost 92,000 kWh of energy – enough to power 10 homes annually. Ford’s solar array at its corporate headquarters is even more impactful, with enough cells to generate 1.1 million kWh – equivalent to the energy requirements of 158 homes, and an offset of 794 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
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