SMART Station Bring New Ideas into the Technology Corridor

In January, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) unveiled an electric vehicle charging station that can also make electricity from sunlight, store electricity and put electricity back in the power grid when needed. The Smart Modal Area Recharge Terminal, or SMART station, is a joint demonstration project developed and funded by TVA and EPRI. It is among the first public electric vehicle charging stations with all these features and is located at EPRI’s Knoxville Research Laboratory in the Tennessee Technology Corridor. The charging stations will be tested for three to six months before additional stations, with a total of 125 charging spaces, are built in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville and possibly other sites over the next few years. Access to the stations initially will be limited to researchers. The SMART stations will be used over time to study various aspects of electric vehicle charging, including consumer behavior, the impact on the electricity system, infrastructure design and development, and testing different stationary batteries. TVA and EPRI also will assess electric vehicles’ potential to reduce greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

 

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