MEDIA ADVISORY

Contact: Mitch Leff, 404-861-4769, mitch@leffassociates.com

Oct. 14: First for Georgia - Visitor Information Center Features Solar-Powered Electric Vehicle Charging Station

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia and Ray C. Anderson Foundation Take First Step in Imagining the Highway of the Future

What: Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, The Ray C. Anderson Foundation, Georgia Department of Transportation, Georgia Department of Economic Development, and Hannah Solar, LLC have partnered to install the state’s first solar-powered PV4EV (photovoltaic for electric vehicle) charging station at the state’s Visitor Information Center in West Point, Ga.

When: October 14, 2015, 3:30 p.m.

Where: The Georgia Visitor Information Center, I-85 North, GA-AL Line, West Point, 31833. To get to the Visitor Information Center (VIC) going Southbound, take I-85 South to the first Alabama exit (#79), turn left and cross  the bridge. Turn left to re-enter I-85 northbound for about one mile. The entrance to the VIC is  the first exit in GA.  The next exit in GA is Exit 2.

The innovative charging station, powered by the SpotlightTM Solar LIFT, is the first in what is imagined to be a series of technology demonstrations that will make "The Ray," a 16-mile section of I-85 in West Georgia, a model for the highway of the future. Georgia ranks 2nd in the nation for registered EVs, and the installation of the PV4EV is a progressive step to promote more broad adoption of EVs in the region.

Visuals:

• Electric vehicle charging station will be activated and will plug into a Kia Soul (available for test rides)
• Spotlight Solar LIFT - EV charging station
• VIPs dedication and unveiling new branding for Ray C. Anderson Memorial Highway

About:

• The electric vehicle (EV) charger is a Level 3 "quick charge" station, capable of providing 80 percent + battery charge in less than 45 minutes for most EVs.
• The strategic placement of the PV4EV at West Point makes travel more convenient for EV drivers travelling between Georgia and Alabama.
• The EV charger’s electricity is offset by the co-located Spotlight Solar™ LIFT PV array, consisting of 12 LUMOS architectural grade solar panels capable of generating over 4,360 kWh annually.

Who:  

• Georgia Department of Transportation Board members
• Local elected officials
• Officials from Georgia Department of Economic Development

About The Ray

• The Ray, the 16-mile stretch of road between exits 2 and 18 in Troup County is named for Ray C. Anderson, founder of the global carpet tile manufacturer Interface, Inc. Anderson is remembered as a pioneering industrialist who had an environmental epiphany in 1994, at the age of 60, and challenged Interface to become the “first name in industrial ecology.”
• Anderson led his company on a journey coined as “Mission ZeroⓇ,” influencing other business and industry leaders that it was both the right and the smart thing to do. More at http://www.raycandersonfoundation.org.
• The Ray is envisioned as a way to change the way we think about our infrastructure in the future.

Partners: Ray C. Anderson Foundation, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG), Hannah Solar, LLC, Spotlight Solar, City of West Point, GA, LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), Georgia Conservancy, Georgia Department of Economic Development, Georgia Tech School of Architecture.

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