For Today: ChargePoint adding 9,800 charging spots, Germany cracking down on diesel

ChargePoint buys GE network:  ChargePoint will be adding 9,800 charging spots to its network through acquisition of GE’s EV charging network. That’s made up of more than 1,800 commercial and about 8,000 resident charging spots to the ChargePoint network. GE’s existing clients and drivers will be served through maintenance of GE’s existing software and commercial charging stations. GE customers with questions about the transition to ChargePoint can learn more at this site. GE played a visible role in setting up the U.S. charging infrastructure years ago, and would be typically seen with a strong presence at electric transportation industry conferences.

Most powerful solar:  Los Angeles just had the world’s most powerful solar energy project completed, according to solar developer PermaCity and city officials. The Westmont Solar Energy Project, located in LA’s port town of San Pedro, has more than 50,000 solar panels covering 50 acres of roof space and generating up to 16.4 megawatts of electricity. That’s enough to provide power to 5,000 single family homes. It comes in second after Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., in terms of size. As for power, it offers the world’s most powerful solar source for electricity announcement.

Germany cracking down on diesel emissions and reporting:  Germany will be adopting a national plan to reduce pollution from diesel vehicles, and to establish a new organization for making vehicle emissions testing more accurate. National elections will be taking place on September 24, two years after the Volkswagen “dirty diesel” scandal was reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Germany, which plays a leading role in the European Union and is the home base for VW, has been taking a tough stance with automakers and their diesel vehicles. Diesel cars have been very popular in Germany, with VW, Audi, Mercedes, and BMW offering a long list of high-performance diesel cars; many of which will be going away. On Monday, the transport ministry was urging automakers to upgrade to realistic software on up to 12 million diesel vehicles in Germany; on Tuesday, that ministry announced creation of a “national diesel forum” to work with automakers and regional governments on emissions cuts.