McDonald's in North Carolina adds EV charging point
About a decade ago, a lone McDonald's in Phoenix, Arizona installed an electric car charging station in the hopes that one day consumers would be driving to its store on electrons in lieu of fossil fuels. A decade has since passed and most of us still pump dead dinos into our tanks, but at least one McDonald's franchise in Cary, North Carolina is taking another look at electric car charging points.
Ric Richards, the owner of the McDonald's in question, is reportedly going green on the new restaurant with eco-friendly materials and technologies, and that includes a ChargePoint charging station for plug-in vehicles. Click here for a quick primer on how the ChargePoint public charging station works.
It's probably going to be a little while longer before a large enough number of plug-in vehicles are on our roads to prompt widespread adoption of charging points, but at least one fast food restaurant will be ready. McDonald's in Sweden are also looking at offering outlets with Big Macs.
[Source: Hybrid Cars | Photo: smenzel CC 2.0]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sean P 8:46PM (7/06/2009)
Cool! Such a simple and relatively inexpensive thing that will bring benefits to any business now (green cred) and later (business from EV owners,) and benefits to all: increased public charging infrastructure.
Isn't that near EVII's offices? Hmm, 2.5hours according to MapQuest.
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cWj 9:05PM (7/06/2009)
random info: that pic is of a McD's in NYC.
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cWj 9:21PM (7/06/2009)
on Broadway, a block over from WTC, if I'm not mistaken.
Yanquetino 9:45PM (7/06/2009)
Good for McDonald's! Makes sense. I hope they make it a standard feature of their stores: just think what those nearly 50,000 franchises in the USA could do to accelerate the transition to EVs.
I have the impression, however, that ChargePoint stations are "fee-based." If so, just watch: Burger King and Wendys will then start offering FREE charging --or at least provide a "validation" with your receipt-- to upstage and undersell the Golden Arches.
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jpm 3:01AM (7/07/2009)
But do enviro-do-gooder-EV-drivers frequent McDonalds? Doubtful given all the negatives aspects of raising cattle in such a short amount of time and all the crap they're feed/injected with.
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Throwback 8:26AM (7/07/2009)
"But do enviro-do-gooder-EV-drivers frequent McDonalds?"
My thoughts exactly.
Yanquetino 11:34AM (7/07/2009)
jpm: Now, now! Not all EV advocates are vegans. Even then, McD also has pretty good salads.
Alan 12:56PM (7/07/2009)
Not only that but not all EV drivers will be 'enviro-do-gooders'. I want an EV because I think the ICE has been with us long enough and it's not efficient enough and the running costs are increasing, EV can bring those costs back down in one massive jump. If I become an early adopter I realize that I will pay a premium for an EV but I think that it's highly likely that over the next 10 years it will at least pay for itself and there's probably a good chance that it will return a net saving over an ICE.
I quite like the occasional Big Mac.
polo 2:00PM (7/07/2009)
When the price goes down the top buyers for EVs will be college students, who live and die by fastfood.
Eletruk 12:15AM (7/08/2009)
I do, occasionally. Porbably would more often if the food wasn't so very carnivorous.
floorman56 10:16AM (7/07/2009)
Green washing
How many EV's are there in Cary, North Carolina?
How much of a charge can you get in the 10 mins it takes to eat at Mc D's?
How many ICE's will park in the charging spot because it is close to the door?
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polo 2:11PM (7/07/2009)
"How many EV's are there in Cary, North Carolina?"
Did you even know Cary, North Carolina existed before today? Whats wrong with being the first and getting publicity for it?
'How much of a charge can you get in the 10 mins it takes to eat at Mc D's?"
People will plug in while they're there and unplug when they leave. Who says you have to wait till you fully charge? Do people fill their gas tank up every time they go to gas station? It will end up being trendy to pop your plug in whenever one is near by, especially when the electric companies start offering the option of letting evs put excess electricity back into the grid.
"How many ICE's will park in the charging spot because it is close to the door?"
How many cars park in the pregnant or green car spots? A few do, most don't.
Jimmy 6:29PM (7/08/2009)
"How many EV's are there in Cary, North Carolina?"
Ask the Triangle Electric Auto Association :) Cary is home to a large number of engineers and scientists who work at local Universities and the Research Triangle Park. RTP has a large EPA campus that does air pollution research and automobile testing.
Cary is a very affluent town, which would make EVs more likely. Also, due to severe sign ordinances, a McDonald's in Cary doesn't look anything like the ones pictured in these articles.
Floorman56 6:22PM (7/07/2009)
How many EV's are there in Cary, North Carolina?"
Did you even know Cary, North Carolina existed before today? Whats wrong with being the first and getting publicity for it?
Because it's greenwashing!!! What good does it do if no one uses it? You want to DO things for the environment not just some PR BS They would do more good by sending all there fry grease somewhere to be turned into biodiesel
It will end up being trendy to pop your plug in whenever one is near by, especially when the electric companies start offering the option of letting evs put excess electricity back into the grid.
Ever heard the term " Pee in the Ocean " ? Same thing
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Eletruk 12:18AM (7/08/2009)
The thing to remember, this is a franchise owner who has done this, not the McDonald's corporation. So it's hardly McDonald's effort at greenwashing.
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Scott 7:34AM (7/15/2009)
I hate to break it to you guys, but electric cars are much worse for the environment than those powered by fossil fuels. Until we switch to more nuclear power plants, an electric car is essentially powered by coal. In some regions of this country up to 90% of electricity is generated by coal plants. Even in areas where wind and solar are gaining popularity, charging cars off the grid would more than offset the gains made using these alternative methods...leave it to Micky Ds to endorse the sale of an alternative fuel that essentially parallels the nutritional value in the big mac...not good.
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