Tomorrow Morning's I&E Keynote: Kent Rathwell, President Of Sun Country Highway
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"We set out to eliminate the excuses of people from blaming government, oil companies, automakers and, ultimately, their ancestors for the lack of sustainable transportation," Rathwell says of the cross-country charging network, adding that "...if our ancestors had put charging stations into their houses and businesses 100 years ago, we would have had sustainable transportation for a century now."
"The original concept was to finally create sustainable transportation," Rathwell said of Sun Country Highway. "Up until a couple of years ago, that’s never been able to take root."
Judging by the numbers, he’s succeeded. There are now thousands of chargers installed across Canada, including along the entire length of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Peavey Mart, a retailer with 32 stores across Western Canada, installed charging stations at its outlets so that EV-owning consumers can buy Sun Country's bird feed and take it home with no emissions.
"(Peavey) bought into the concept, and in addition they have made their charging stations available 24/7 to anyone travelling by. So they’re not only empowering their customers, they’re empowering strangers.
"And that is really what this is about. Empowering people to focus their energy on the positive instead of buying into why we can’t do things. That’s why we electrified the entire Trans-Canada Highway. If the longest highway in the world can be electrified, what can’t be?"