The City of Atlanta announced that Mayor Kasim Reed unveiled 102 new electric vehicle charging stations at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The charging stations will accommodate travelers and airport employees who drive electric vehicles and park at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. During a press conference, Mayor Reed was joined by Georgia Power Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Bowers, Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols, Clean Cities – Georgia Executive Director Don Francis, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport General Manager Roosevelt Council, Jr. and Chief Resilience Officer Stephanie Stuckey Benfield. The measure is part of Mayor Reed’s agenda to ensure that Atlanta is one of the nation’s leading cities for sustainability.

“I am proud to unveil more than 100 new charging stations at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport that will accommodate travelers and airport employees who drive electric vehicles,” said Mayor Kasim Reed. “This is a historic step for the world’s busiest and most efficient passenger airport and propels the City of Atlanta closer to its goal to reduce vehicle emissions by 20 percent by the year 2020. I would like to thank Georgia Power, the Georgia Public Service Commission and Clean Cities – Georgia for helping to make this happen.”

Mayor Reed charged the airport with installing 300 electric vehicle charging stations for public use. The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability is coordinating with the sustainability team at the airport to meet the goal, and plans to install an additional 100 electric vehicle charging stations at the airport by the end of year 2017 and the final 100 electric vehicles by 2018.

“Today's announcement underscores our unwavering commitment to increasing our sustainability efforts,” said Airport General Manager Roosevelt Council, Jr. “These efforts will continue across the entire Airport campus and will boost our goal to be not only the world’s busiest and most efficient airport,

but also one of the most sustainable.”

Georgia Power, the Georgia Public Service Commission and Clean Cities – Georgia were key partners in installing electric vehicle stations at the airport.

“We are proud to join with our partners at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to announce the aggressive expansion of more than 100 new charging stations,” said Paul Bowers, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Georgia Power. “We commend the Airport for this initiative, and thank Mayor Reed and the Georgia Public Service Commission for their vision and willingness to take bold steps to drive EV infrastructure expansion across Metro Atlanta and the state.”

The EV charging stations are broken down into Level I and Level II chargers located across the ATL campus. Level I chargers are ideal for longer-term charges, while Level II chargers provide a faster charge in less time.

Twenty-two chargers (16 Level I, 6 Level II) are located at the Domestic terminal South Daily Parking Deck on the ground floor; 24 chargers (16 Level I and 8 Level II) are located on the North Daily Parking Deck on the ground floor; 16 chargers (10 Level I, 6 Level II) are in the Maynard H. Jackson International Terminal hourly deck on the second floor; 30 chargers (all Level I) are on the Maynard H. Jackson International Terminal Park and Ride deck on the ground floor; two chargers (Level II) are in the South Department of Aviation employee parking lot; four chargers (2 Level I and 2 Level 2) are in the Technical Support Campus parking lot; and four (2 Level I and 2 Level II) are located at the Airport’s Maintenance Building Number 1.

Under the Reed Administration, the City of Atlanta has been committed to integrating alternative fuel vehicles into the City’s fleet and providing infrastructure for residents and visitors in Atlanta. Through an innovative public-private partnership, the City of Atlanta deployed sixty electric vehicles, along with the corresponding infrastructure charging network, to the City’s fleet inventory last year. This program currently serves as one of the largest municipal fleets of electric vehicles in the United States and will ultimately reduce the city’s dependence on fossil fuels while saving taxpayers thousands of dollars per year. In addition, the electric vehicle fleet program is aligned with the City’s Power to Change Plan which seeks to reduce vehicle emissions by 20 percent by the year 2020.

The City of Atlanta also deployed five neighborhood electric vehicles for the Atlanta Police Department PATH Force Unit, the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department and the Department of Parks and Recreation to access the Atlanta BeltLine with zero emissions in June 2016.

“The City of Atlanta has a long-term program to develop policies and programs that will encourage employees, residents and businesses to consider using electric vehicles. To date, we have successful implemented an electric vehicle fleet program, deployed a neighborhood electric vehicles for our public safety departments to access the Atlanta BeltLine and installed charging stations at city hall and at the world’s busiest airport,” said Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, Chief Resilience Officer of the City of Atlanta. “However, there is still more work to be done and we are excited about the possibilities of furthering expanding our alternative fuel vehicles infrastructure in the City of Atlanta.”