Video: Kwik Trip stores install 70 free charging stations (well, sort of)

Ben Nelson, an advocate of green cars, was pleasantly surprised to discover that Kwik Trip, a convenience store that he frequents, installed an electric vehicle charging station that's free of charge. In fact, Kwik Trip has installed 70 of these so-called "charge stations," at its stores throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

The Kwik Trip charge stations are nothing more than 120-volt outlets attached to poles stuck in the ground, but Ben's not complaining. And, while the chargers are far from fancy, they're free to use. Well, sort of. You see, Kwik Trip has got to know that at 120-volts, electric vehicles get approximately four miles of range per hour of charging, which means that drivers of plug-ins will need to spend a fair bit of time perusing the stores' aisles to get any real benefit and, if all goes as planned, they will buy items before hitting the road.

In its defense, Kwik Trip does plan to upgrade its chargers to "something more powerful in the near future," but even if the chain doesn't install 240-volt Level 2 equipment, a 120-volt plug-in point is better than nothing at all. Hop the jump to catch a video of Ben Nelson extolling the virtues of Kwik Trip's free chargers.

[Source: Plugin Cars]