Duke Energy plans to install up to 530 public charging stations within its Florida service area. Under the Park and Plug pilot program, the chargers will be deployed at multi-unit dwellings, workplaces and locations with high traffic. Ten percent of the new charging stations will be installed in “income-qualified communities.”

Charging solution provider NovaCharge will install the charging stations – selected host sites for the program will work directly with NovaCharge to have the equipment installed.

Sites are being selected through an application process. Prospective site hosts can apply through the Park and Plug web site.

Duke has also launched a three-year study called Charge Florida to research the impact of residential EV charging on the electric grid. The company will collect information from around 200 customer volunteers who drive EVs. Basic data such as the location, time frame and length of vehicle charging, and battery state of charge will be compiled to produce a dataset that Duke will use to plan for the integration of EV charging demand.

FleetCarma will provide an online gateway to vehicle data and statistics, and volunteers will receive compensation for their participation. To register for the study, visit the FleetCarma web site.

Meanwhile, Duke has announced a new investment of $6 billion in a multi-year plan to build a smarter, cleaner, more resilient energy grid. This includes installing new smart meters for customers this fall, and building or acquiring 700 MW of new solar power over the next four years.

“We are bringing cleaner energy to Florida through 700 megawatts of new universal solar, and we are helping our customers to bring clean transportation to the state as well,” said Duke Energy Florida President Catherine Stempien.

Source: Duke Energy