EnviroSpark, an electric vehicle (EV) charging company, announced Tuesday that construction is under way on three charging station projects to be placed at the Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta Humane Society and Woodruff Arts Center, in partnership with their nonprofit organizations.
Georgia-based EnviroSpark plans to install, manage and maintain the chargers at no cost to the organizations. Installation of the chargers at the Atlanta Humane Society is nearly complete while the chargers at Woodruff Arts Center are awaiting permitting.
Vibration tests were conducted late last month at the Georgia Aquarium to ensure that the installation will not negatively impact the animals.
The company has already installed chargers at the Bobby Jones Golf Course, Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta and the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
“We are so proud to partner with these iconic nonprofit institutions to help them seamlessly bring EV charging to their patrons.” said EnviroSpark co-founder and CEO Aaron Luque, in a press release. “Our mission is to deliver reliable and accessible EV chargers wherever people live, work and play,”
A Georgia Aquarium executive said the benefits of electric vehicles align with their organizational mission to preserve and protect the environment, according to the press release.
“We are always looking to find new ways to improve our impact on the environment,” said Anthony Rivera, the aquarium’s senior vice president of operations and hospitality. “Our partnership with EnviroSpark... allows us to provide an additional amenity to our guests while also expanding our environmental conservation efforts at home.”
Compared to traditional fossil fuel-powered vehicles, EVs produce no carbon emissions on the road and are considered a key tool in the fight to limit climate change.
EnviroSpark’s push to create more EV charging stations comes as the Biden Administration incentivizes transition to electric vehicles through infrastructure spending, tax credits and higher fuel economy standards.
As previously reported by the AJC, the Georgia Department of Transportation will receive $135 million through last year’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to install charging stations on key highways over the next several years.
More than 548,000 EVs were sold in the U.S. through the first nine months of this year, up 70% compared to the same period in 2021, according to auto data firm Kelley Blue Book, which, like The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is a Cox Enterprises company. EVs made up about 5.4% of all new car sales in the first three quarters of this year, up from 2.7% last year.
Currently, Georgia has about 1,300 publicly available charging stations. But as electric vehicles are expected to make up 15% of all vehicles on the road by 2030, more stations are needed.
Last month, EnviroSpark was awarded a $500 million contract to design and install EV charging stations at locations run by federal agencies throughout the Southeast.
-Staff writer Drew Kann contributed to this report.
-This story has been corrected to show that construction is under way on three charging station projects.
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This coverage is supported by a partnership with 1Earth Fund, the Kendeda Fund and Journalism Funding Partners. You can learn more and support our climate reporting by donating at ajc.com/donate/climate/
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