Microgrid Solar knows that Electric Vehicles (EVs) result in lower carbon emissions and the company therefore recognizes the importance of helping to make Charging Stations accessible to EV drivers.

Following a successful partnership last year between the St. Louis Cardinals, Microgrid Energy, Electrical Connection and Sachs Electric to bring solar energy to Busch Stadium, a natural next-step was the installation of the stadium's first Electric Vehicle Charging Station, which is located in parking lot "B".

On this project, Microgrid Solar worked again with Sachs Electric, a Fenton, Missouri electrical contractor, and Electrical Connection, a partnership of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local One and the St. Louis Chapter, National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA).

The charging station is part of an on-going partnership between the St. Louis Cardinals, the Electrical Connection, Microgrid Energy, and Sachs Electric to introduce renewable energy to the stadium and educate the public in the process.

"No franchise is as intimately tied to a community as the St. Louis Cardinals," said Jim Curran, Executive Vice President of the Electrical Connection. "So, we greatly appreciate its leadership in helping the Electrical Connection educate the public about our future energy needs."

According to Microgrid Solar's Project Engineer, Patrick Kemp, "Microgrid Solar's goal is to help establish a central corridor of charging stations along St. Louis' Highway 40 corridor." Towards this goal, two additional charging stations have been recently installed, one at Sigma-Aldrich and one at Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC).

According to Jeffrey Whitford, Global Citizenship Manager at Sigma-Aldrich, "Sigma-Aldrich was excited to be able to install a ChargePoint Charging Station through the JumpStart program. Over the past three years we have been working across our business to implement sustainability initiatives that will help us reduce our environmental impact. With the ChargePoint station and our new electric car, we're able to reduce the emissions of our fleet and provide our employees with broader transportation options."

The new charging station at SWIC is the 3rd at the college campus, highlighting their commitment The charging stations at Busch Stadium, Sigma-Aldrich and SWIC are all "ChargePoint" stations. ChargePoint offers the most full-featured and largest network of charging stations in the country.

These stations allow station owners to control access and billing, track and display greenhouse gas and gasoline savings, as well as configure demand response and time-of-use pricing (smart grid compatible). Also, these charging stations facilitate 24/7 driver assistance and allow electric vehicle owners to check real-time station availability and track individual usage via ChargePoint's online interface.

In recent legislation, along with a number of tax credits and renewable incentives being approved, a 30% tax credit for EV charging stations was also granted.

This is a great time for companies who are interested in being leaders of environmental sustainability to consider installing charging stations in their parking lots for visitor and employee use.