Plaid Pantry has installed its first-ever EV charger at a store in Portland, Oregon, according to an emailed press release. The ribbon-cutting was held on Friday.
The convenience retailer tapped EV charging company Electric Era to provide its PowerNode EV fast-chargers, which are battery-assisted fast chargers that draw less power from the grid than more traditional fast chargers. This can enable the chargers to work in areas where the electricity infrastructure isn’t as robust, as well as help stores avoid large spikes in demand charges.
“We’re proud to lead the way in providing our Portland-area customers with premium, reliable EV fast-charging,” said Jonathan Polonsky, Plaid Pantry chairman and CEO. “Plaid Pantry is modeling the future of refill for customers.”
The site, which Plaid Pantry broke ground on in August, will have one fast charger and one associated battery. It is currently the only EV charging location Plaid Pantry has planned.
Since its beta launch in October, Plaid Pantry’s PowerNode experienced 99.85% charging session reliability across more than 200 vehicles using the site. A PowerNode can typically add 100 miles of range with a 10-minute charge, depending on the age and type of vehicle.
Plaid Pantry is one of many c-stores easing into the complex EV charging space. Nearly 80% of convenience stores sell motor fuel according to NACS, and electric vehicles are currently capturing about 7% of the market and growing, according to Cox Automotive. But while chains like Pilot are already planning thousands of chargers, many others are concerned about the uncertainty in the space.
Electric Era plans to install EV chargers at more than 10 convenience stores and other retailers by the end of the year, and aims to have more than 10,000 PowerNodes in place by 2030.
Founded in 1963, Beaverton, Oregon-based Plaid Pantry operates 106 convenience stores throughout the northwestern U.S.
