1st electric boat charging station installed at Lake Tahoe

Mountain Democrat, May 21 2021

HOMEWOOD — Homewood Resort’s Marina is home to the first on-the-water, electric boat charging station on Lake Tahoe.

Following in the footsteps of the automotive industry’s transition to electric vehicles, the boating industry is moving in the same direction, with Homewood Resort’s Marina and its management company, JMA Ventures, LLC, leading the transition at Lake Tahoe.

Homewood’s new electric watersport boat gets a charge before heading out onto the lake.

“We are excited to take this step into electric watersport recreation and to be the first in Lake Tahoe to make it possible,” states Kevin Mitchell, Homewood Resort’s general manager in a press release. “This effort is perfectly aligned with the environmental goals of our resort and our plans to revitalize the West Shore with the redevelopment of Homewood as a year-round adventure residential community that prioritizes environmental improvement and sustainable design.”

The resort’s redevelopment project’s initial phase is slated to break ground this summer with state-of-the-art environmental redevelopment and stewardship practices. With this plan, the resort will set a benchmark showcasing how a thoughtfully designed redevelopment is the path for Tahoe’s economic and environmental well-being.

The installation of EB charging stations at the marina aligns with the resort’s redevelopment by leading cutting-edge sustainability initiatives in the boating industry in Lake Tahoe.

In partnership with Ingenity and Superior Boat Repair & Sales, beginning June 1 marina guests can experience the world’s first 100% electric watersport boat, the Super Air Nautique GS22E, powered by Ingenity.

In 2020, backed by the support of the Tahoe Fund, the marina installed its first on-water charger and over the past year the marina has been working closely with local utilities to upgrade the charging service to power two 100KW Level 3 Fast DC chargers to their harbor.

“We have been working with the Ingenity team on this project for more than three years and protecting the unique natural resource of Lake Tahoe has always been our priority so installing an on-the-water EB charging stations at the Marina is 100% in alignment with our commitment,” said David Topol, director of the Homewood Resort’s Marina in the press release. “It’s exciting to see this project come to life and provide an electric boat experience at our location this summer. We look forward to sharing this with everyone.”

The battery-operated, zero-emission GS22E, developed by Nautique’s Ingenity Electric, was designed to meet the most rigorous watersports demands. The award-winning Ingenity Electric system operates using clean energy that delivers optimal performance for watersports allowing for up to three hours of continuous run time during watersports.

Bob Bense, owner of Superior Boat Sales & Repair said the GS22E electric watersport boat is available for pre-purchase for others interested in owning one.

“Homewood is the perfect place to showcase how Ingenity has combined the latest in environmentally friendly propulsion technology with one of the most demanding applications on the water … the watersports boat,” said Sean Marrero, president of Ingenity.

“We also decided early on to adopt automotive standards for charging. This has made it easy for Ingenity to provide a menu of charging solutions for both residential and commercial applications like the one at Homewood. These are industry firsts, and boating enthusiasts who share our commitment to protecting the environment are going to be impressed by what the Nautique GS22E can do.”