DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreen Co. plans to offer electric vehicle charging stations at about 800 locations nationwide by the end of this year, which the drug store chain reported would make it the country’s largest retail host.
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Walgreens already has EV charging station installations under way at over 60 stores in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago. |
Walgreens said Thursday that its stores will provide convenient sites for electric vehicle (EV) drivers to recharge near home or work. The charging stations will feature a high-speed direct current (DC) charger that can add 30 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes of charging time, or a Level 2 charger that can add up to 25 miles of range per hour of charge.
Major markets expected to host the EV charging stations include Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. EV stations also will be deployed at select locations in Florida, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington.
Installations are slated to begin later this month, according to Walgreens. The chain drug retailer already has EV charging station installations under way at more than 60 stores in the Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago areas.
"Consumer interest and enthusiasm has been incredible, and we’re excited to provide locations to charge up in neighborhoods across the country," Mark Wagner, president of community management and operations for Walgreens, said in a statement. "As more Americans embrace environmentally sustainable technologies, our convenient locations make us uniquely positioned to help address the concern around accessibility or ‘range confidence.’"
According to the Department of Energy, Walgreens will account for as much as 40% of all public EV charging stations in the nation, "making it easy for EV drivers to look to our stores for a quick charge near major highways, metropolitan areas or right in their neighborhood," Wagner added.
