KINGSTON, R.I. – July 1, 2013 – The Ocean State Clean Cities Coalition at the University of Rhode Island will hold a conference on electric vehicles on July 11 that includes a demonstration of charging stations and an opportunity for the public to test drive several electric vehicles.
The event, called “Take Charge II,” runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Center for Biotechnology & Life Sciences at the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston campus. Registration for the morning session, which includes lunch, is $10 in advance or $15 at the door. The afternoon session is free.
The morning program will feature several presentations and panel discussions with electric vehicle industry and policy experts, including Cassandra Powers of the Transportation Climate Initiative at Georgetown University, Colleen Quinn of ChargePoint and Paul Young of Garage Juice Bar (both companies are EV charging station providers), John Gilbrook of National Grid, Marion Gold, commissioner of the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, and Al Dahlberg, founder of Project Get Ready Rhode Island.
“We are excited to provide this opportunity for the general public to learn about electric vehicle technologies from the experts and then to get behind the wheel and feel how they drive,” said Wendy Lucht, URI coordinator of the Ocean State Clean Cities Coalition.
From 1 to 3 p.m., the public will have the opportunity to drive electric vehicles made by Toyota, Nissan, Ford and Chevrolet and see demonstrations of ChargePoint and Garage Juice Bar electric vehicle charging stations. It is not necessary to attend the morning session to participate in the test drive and charging station demonstrations.
The event is sponsored by ChargePoint, National Grid, Premier Nissan of Newport, Premier Toyota of Newport, Garage Juice Bar and Schneider Electric.
For additional information about the Clean Cities Coalition or the July 11 conference, contact Wendy Lucht at 401-874-2792 or wlucht@uri.edu.
One of 87 such coalitions around the country, the Ocean State Clean Cities Coalition receives programmatic support from the URI Energy Center and has been promoting alternative fuels in Rhode Island since 1998.