In what seems to be extremely strategic moves throughout Georgia, there have been multiple locations that have opted to install charging stations for individuals with electric cars. One of the first major installations was 10 years ago at the Discover Mills Mall in Lawrenceville, GA which offered a half a dozen spots in front of Burlington Coat Factory. They apparently jumped on board too early as various Green sites report that they're not functional anymore. Electric vehicles hadn't even been widely used at the time and even a decade later, electric cars are still scarce on the road and only now beginning to be adopted by the public.

While Discover Mills may have let their stations wither away, Jim Ellis Chevrolet in Atlanta is readying for the launch of the heavily anticipated Chevrolet Volt. Many may recall that General Manager Mark Frost drove to New York to purchase a Chevy Volt so that potential buyers in Georgia could test drive one themselves months before they were even to be made available.Now Jim Ellis Chevrolet has officially installed two 240V charging stations at the dealership (one in the Service area and one in the Sales area). This way drivers needing to quick charge their vehicle now have a place to do so if they're stuck in traffic on one of the 3 major thoroughfares that surround the dealership (I-85, I-285, Buford Highway, Peachtree Industrial, and Peachtree Parkway).  The 240V chargers will charge the vehicle in under 4 hours.

Following suit is the entire city of Woodstock, GA which became the first municipality in the state to offer a public charging station. The 240V charger can charge an electric vehicle making it easy for citizens to plug up and go shopping or dining in the city of Woodstock and come back to a fully charged vehicle. It's surprising that cities like Atlanta don't utilize this opportunity in some of the many garages in Atlanta to entice employees of companies located in the downtown areas to seriously consider electric vehicles for their daily transportation and drastically reduce or in some case completely eliminate the need for gas and also dramatically reduce emissions.

Regardless of how slowly or quickly the movement to electric vehicles is adopted by the public, having the resources in place to accommodate them is going to be the key for people to begin being comfortable transitioning to electric cars like the Chevy Volt. Luckily we have pioneers like Jim Ellis Chevrolet in Atlanta and the city of Woodstock to jumpstart the process.