Watch out San Francisco, you’re not the only city striving to put electric cars on the road. Today, you’ll be joined by Elk Horn, Iowa, where Coulomb Technologies is installing EV charging stations.

The Danish Windmill in Elk Horn (Photo: DanishWindmill.com)

After a ribbon-cutting today, four ChargePoint stations will be available for public use in the small city between Des Moines and Omaha, thanks to support from Iron Eagle Technologies, the Danish Windmill, AmericInn Motels and the Elk Horn Service Station. Coulomb’s distributor Carbon Day Automotive also joined this group effort to bring clean renewable energy to Elk Horn.

The stations will be the first of many envisioned for the I-80 corridor through Iowa and Nebraska. They are the first installed in Iowa, and the first between Chicago and Denver, helping add to a network that aims to span the country – which helps answer the question “Why Iowa?”

Another way of looking at it, according to President and CEO of Iron Eagle Technologies (IET), Mike Howard, is to ask “Why Not Iowa?”

“Although it’s not well known, the first successful electric vehicle was actually invented in Iowa by William Morrison.  We’ve come a long way since then, and Iron Eagle Technologies is committed to putting the EV focus back in the heartland,” he said.

IET, a testing company that consults, evaluates and helps develop clean energy, including EV vehicles, wind and solar energy, provided the impetus for bringing the stations to the southwest corner of Iowa. The company’s “World EVAL” program will be testing and certifying electric vehicles and EV components.

The new ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations will be open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles. The networked repowering stations provide authentication, management and real-time control using web-based portals that drivers and fleet managers can use. For more info on how the Chargepoint system works see the Coulomb website  Drivers can also find a listing of stations at the website.

The ribbon cutting ceremony, at the town’s iconic (and fittingly green) Danish Windmill, will be a celebration of possibilities with officials speaking about the need to put EV infrastructure in place for future transportation and EV manufacturers offering rides in EV vehicles.

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Amsterdam will install 45 ChargePoint charging stations for electric vehicles as part of a two-year pilot project. ChargePoint is a product of Campbell, Calif.-based Coulomb Technologies.

The City of Amsterdam plans to deploy 200 charging stations before 2012, and the charging stations are expected to fuel 10,000 electric cars by 2015. Energy company Nuon will provide renewable energy for the charging stations and Coulomb’s international partner 365-Energy will manage the ChargePoint Network for subscribers.

“We are proud to announce our first European deployment of Coulomb’s ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations, “Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies, said in a statement. “Less than two months ago we announced the formation of our EMEA headquarters and now the city of Amsterdam will have the largest network of smart charging stations in Europe for fleet and consumer charging.”

Electric vehicle drivers to subscribe to the service through a website and receive a smart card that allows them to charge their car at any charging station. The service will be free of for this pilot project.

Drivers can find available charging stations through Google maps and request new stations through a subscriber portal. Officials of Coulomb Technologies said that as the ChargePoint network expands across Europe, drivers will have access to the service in any city, regardless of their provider.

Related story:

• San Francisco plugs in to the EV movement