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AUGUSTA — The first phase of the initiative to install seven electric vehicle charging stations for drivers coming from or heading to Southern New England, New Hampshire and Quebec will begin shortly, Efficiency Maine has announced.
Level 3 fast charge stations will be installed at the Maine Turnpike Authority service plazas in Kennebunk, West Gardiner, U.S. Route 302 in the Bridgton/Naples area, in Farmington near the intersection of U.S. Route 2 and Route 27, in Jackman, and along U.S. Route 201.
Each location will include two ultra-fast chargers. The ChargePoint Express Plus ultra-fast chargers installed at the Kennebunk Plazas and West Gardiner Plaza will be capable of delivering hundreds of miles of range in as little as 15 minutes for many current and future EV models, such as the Chevy Bolt and the Hyundai KONA Electric, each offering more than 240 miles of range on a single charge.
Eight ChargePoint Express 250 fast chargers will be installed at locations on Route 302, Route 2 and Route 201. The fast chargers will dispense 62.5 kW of power and can deliver more than 100 miles of range in 30 minutes or less.
Each location will also include a single dual-port Level 2 charger, which cannot deliver a charge as quickly as fast chargers, but will be able to serve drivers with more time, vehicles that cannot take a fast charge or hybrid plug-in models.
The public-private partnership is made possible with public funding received by the state through the settlement of federal lawsuits against Volkswagen for violation of air pollution laws. On behalf of the Maine Department of Transportation, Efficiency Maine is administering $3.15 million from the settlement to provide grants for the Maine EV Charging Initiative. In the first phase, ChargePoint will provide private investment to cover a share of the equipment and operating costs for the seven sites where the 14 charging stations will be deployed.
In the second phase, Efficiency Maine will solicit bids for installation and operation of EV fast chargers in sites that will complement the locations where fast chargers have previously been installed or are being installed through Phase One. The primary focus for Phase Two, which will be rolled out in early 2019, will be to develop EV fast charger stations along Interstate 295, Interstate 95 through Bangor, and along coastal U.S. Route 1 to fill out a network of EV fast chargers as far as Bar Harbor.
A third phase of the initiative will further complement the network of fast charger stations with strategically located Level 2 chargers, which may be used to top up any EV battery during a brief charging session, but will require several hours of charging to deliver a full charge. These kinds of chargers are better suited to retail shopping areas, workplace charging, hotels, and multifamily apartments where the car may be left to charge for more than an hour.
The goal of developing charging stations along these corridors is part of a larger initiative to benefit the Maine economy and environment. Building out the network of fast charging stations along highly traveled routes will, said Michael D. Stoddard, executive director of Efficiency Maine, “help draw more tourists from Boston and Quebec, bringing more business to our local economy while maintaining the pristine air quality that Maine is famous for.”
