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

It’s almost April 22, Earth Day, and the green living tips are flying at us like meteors.

A few from our mail:

• From Car MD – Keep your car maintained, tires inflated, don’t make unnecessary trips, and if you’re going to idle for more than 10 seconds, turn the gas-hound off. Wow. That’s the lowest bar on idling we’ve seen yet. It won’t work in traffic, but maybe we should all rethink the drive-through.

• From the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions — Go Dutch! Apparently pretty much everyone in Amsterdam owns a bike, and more importantly, they use it. Half the city’s traffic comes from bikes, according to the NBTC, which urges us this week to “be inspired by the Dutch way to a greener life.” Ride a bike, and consider buying a Dutch bikes at Batavus. OK, I hadn’t thought of it. But I suppose I could split the cost with my spouse. (Get it, split the cost….) Okay, another Dutch treat that caught my eye: Nothing brand cardboard modular offices. Now that’s just so…biodegradable. Actually they’re beautiful, and they could fill a niche in America. Office shutting down? Just fold and leave!

• And finally, this piece of wisdom from SunRidge Farms in California — Buy in bulk. Sunridge sells its nuts, snacks and trail mixes to consumers and stores in bulk packages — actually in smaller packages that are packaged together. This way ya doesn’t have ta make so many darn trips to the store. Sunridge asks us to order online from Defenders of Wildlife, where lo, they’ve got quite a little online enterprise, selling groceries and beauty supplies. You get economical bulk products, Defenders gets money to do what it does.  And you can sleep at night because you did your part for those besieged Rocky Mountain Gray Wolves. So buy bulk to be green. We’re big on that one.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media