There's a new kind of charging going on at several malls inMaryland, and it has nothing to do with plastic cards, andeverything to do with “green” cars.

Simon Property Group and NRGeVgo ( a subsidiary of NRG Energy) celebrated Earth Day(April 22) with an Electric Car Caravan thatcelebrations new charging stations at St. Charles TowneCenter in Waldorf, MD, Bowie (MD) TownCenter and Queenstown (MD) PremiumOutlets. The caravan launched on April 22 at St. Charleswith a ribbon-cutting at the mall's FreedomStation, then progressed to Bowie and Queenstown.

The Freedom Station sites feature a 480-volt direct current (DC)fast charger that enable EV drivers, who are shopping and visiting,to recharge their vehicles in 30 minutes or less, as well as atraditional 240-volt alternating current (AC) charger that cancharge all electric vehicles. They're part of a growing network ofsuch sites in metro Washington, DC.