Walgreens to expand EV charging stations to about 800 locations

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens is positioning itself to be the largest retail host of electric vehicle charging stations, the drug store chain announced Thursday.

The company, which already has installations under way for EV charging stations at more than 60 stores across Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago, said such major markets as Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., also will host these sites. What's more, Walgreens said that select stores in Florida, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington also will receive EV charging stations.

Overall, Walgreens plans to offer EV charging stations at approximately 800 locations across the country by the end of the year.

The charging stations will feature either a high-speed direct current charger that can add 30 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes of charging time, or a Level 2 charger that can add up to 25 miles of range per hour of charge, Walgreens noted.

“Consumer interest and enthusiasm has been incredible and we’re excited to provide locations to charge up in neighborhoods across the country,” Walgreens president of community management and operations Mark Wagner said. “As more Americans embrace environmentally sustainable technologies, our convenient locations make us uniquely positioned to help address the concern around accessibility or ‘range confidence.’ According to the Department of Energy, Walgreens will make up as much as 40% of all public EV charging stations across the country, making it easy for EV drivers to look to our stores for a quick charge near major highways, metropolitan areas or right in their neighborhood.”