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Experience on the Water

Location: Tempe Town Lake, Tempe, Arizona
Business: Rio Lago Cruise Company
Opening Date: October 1999

Rio Lago Cruise Company operates a fleet of electric marine craft on Tempe Town Lake in Tempe, Arizona. Tempe Lake is approximately 2 miles long and 850 feet wide covering 220 surface-acres. Rio Lago resides in Tempe Beach Park, an area for Valley residents and visitors can come to relax, picnic or enjoy activities. Because Rio Lago is a 7-day/week operation with extended hours during special occasions such as Fourth of July weekend and the Fiesta Bowl New Years Eve Celebration the electric marine craft are required to operate as much as 18 hours/day.

To achieve this, ECOtality North America deployed the Minit-Charger™ Marine-400MPD system with two charge pedestals located at the dock and the main charge system located approximately 150 feet from the charge pedestals. The system also included a charge pedestal by the Charger to support Neighborhood electric vehicles.

The fleet operating off the Minit-Charger™ Marine-400MPD consists of (5) Olympia 35 Foot boats manufactured by Sea Ark and utilize the E-Drive system by ECOtality North America. The E-Drive is an AC-Drive system that operates at 336Volts and propels the Olympia boats at cruising speeds of up to 8 knots.

Upon completion of a typical cruise, which lasts about 45 minutes to an hour, the Captain pulls into the dock and charges the Olympia while the passengers are disembarking and the next group of passengers are boarding. Typical charge times are 6-10 minutes.

For more information on the operation at Rio Lago Cruise call 480-517-4050.