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Madison, Wisc., is joining the EV charging brigade as the local utility, Madison Gas and Electric, has purchased six networked battery charging machines (right) that will be installed around the city - home to the state capital and the University of Wisconsin - beginning this summer.


The investor-owned utility is part of a small but growing group of utilities and municipal governments that are attempting to promote development of rechargeable battery-electric vehicles by installing a public charging infrastructure so potential vehicle buyers will not have to worry about finding juice to top up their  cars' batteries.


MGE gets 51 percent of its electricity from coal-fired plants - the dirtiest kind of electricity - but said power for the chargers will come from renewable energy sources that provide 1 percent of its electricity.


The utility said it is purchasing EV battery chargers made by California-based Coulomb Technologies.


MGE purchased one of the state's first plug-in hybrid cars lat year and this summer plans to vehicle-to-grid technology in a new Ford Escape plug-in hybrid as part of a demonstration project with Ford.


The technology will allow the hybrid SUV to recharge when demand on the grid is lowest and to feed power stored in its batteries back into the grid at times of high demand, when extra power is needed to fend off blackouts.


On, Wisconsin!

Tags: Battery Chaerging, Battery Chargers, EVs

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Madison, Wisc., Joins the EV Charging Generation was originally published by Green Car Advisor. Read the full story by clicking here.