Walmart announced today it has installed eight electric vehicle charging stations at its Ooltewah supercenter on Little Debbie Parkway as the first such charging stations in Tennessee by the world’s biggest retailer.
The new Electrify America electric vehicle charging stations in Ooltewah are part of Walmart’s plans to eventually install more than 1,000 charging stations across its stores in 36 states as both a customer convenience and as part of its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. Walmart has set a goal to be powered by 100 percent renewable energy and to create zero waste in the future.
Following a simple “plug-pay-charge-go” sequence, motorists using the Walmart’s Electrify America EV stations are guided through their experience by the 15-inch touchscreen on each charger. After plugging in their EV, users initiate a new charging session by simply inserting or swiping their credit or debit card.
Users are also given the option to provide their mobile phone number for convenient notifications for in-session monitoring and session receipt delivery. Several of the new units will feature chargers that can charge a car in between 10 and 30 minutes.
In-session information as provided by their vehicle, and as provided by the Electrify America network, will be clearly displayed on the charger’s touchscreen.
Walmart says it plans to be one of the nation’s leading EV charging station hosts and is creating a national grid of electric vehicle charging availability at hundreds of Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations.\
The Ooltewah store at 5588 Little Debbie Parkway is just off of Interstate 75 and should be attractive to electric vehicle owners looking to recharge their batteries during longer intercity trips.
“Along with providing our customers with an enhanced shopping experience through added convenience, this initiative also allows us to contribute to the expansion of our nation’s EV charging station infrastructure,” said Mark Vanderhelm, vice president of energy for Walmart, Inc. “Many of our Walmart associates and customers are EV drivers, so providing access to these stations is the right thing to do for our customers, our business and the environment.”
Walmart says more than 260 million customers and members visit its more than 11,600 stores every week in 28 countries, including its 153 stores in Tennessee.