Today’s Power completes electric vehicle charging station in North Little Rock

The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment recently opened an electric vehicle charging station in the parking lot of its headquarters in North Little Rock. Renewable energy company Today’s Power Inc. (TPI) installed the public station at 5301 Northshore Drive.

“We want to encourage more use of electric vehicles,” said TPI President Michael Henderson. “Having infrastructure in place is crucial to expanding the adoption of EVs. We are delighted to partner with the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment on this initiative, which serves as a model for expanding EV infrastructure and fleet utilization in Arkansas.”

The project was completed over about three months, said Jennah Denney, manager of marketing and public relations for TPI.

Denney said the time it takes to charge an electric vehicle depends on the vehicle type, but a Level 2 charger can provide between 25 and 40 miles of range per hour. A vehicle with a 200-mile range that had a depleted battery could be charged in about eight hours.

Each charger has two ports to allow for two vehicles to be charged at the same time. With six ports, a total of six vehicles could be charged simultaneously at the charging station.

Denney noted the public charging station offers free charging.

Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment will use federal funding from the State Energy Program to cover the cost of the chargers, with a total cost of $60,979. Separate from the federal program, the state agency allocated $215,563 to cover the costs to install electric vehicle chargers through the Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Rebate Program, which is funded by the Volkswagen Settlement with the U.S. Environmental. Other state agencies, cities and businesses in Arkansas can apply for the funding.

“Arkansas’ electric vehicle charging rebate program has been a massive success this year, with over 50 chargers installed and operating across the state,” said Becky Keogh, cabinet secretary for the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment. “E&E plans to launch the second phase of the program in January 2022 with an additional $215,000 in funding. These are important steps to make Arkansas EV ready. We encourage others to join us in expanding our transportation infrastructure to welcome those who choose electric vehicles to live, work and visit in Arkansas.”

According to PlugShare, which provides crowd-sourced information on charging stations, Arkansas has more than 250 charging locations statewide.

Denney said TPI recently completed an additional charging station for the city of Little Rock at Sixth and Ferry streets. The downtown site now can charge eight electric vehicles simultaneously.

She also said the company looks to install DC fast-charging, or Level 3, charging stations. These can provide electric vehicles with more than 100 miles of range per hour. In the first quarter of 2022, TPI has plans to install a fast-charging station in Hot Springs.

Based in North Little Rock, TPI is a subsidiary of Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc., a Little Rock-based utility service cooperative owned by 17 Arkansas electric distribution cooperatives. TPI offers solar arrays, energy storage systems, electric vehicles and charging stations.