Maine has received a $15 million federal grant to install electric vehicle charging stations in more than 70 cities and towns, increasing the number available by more than 50%.
The Biden administration on Thursday announced the grant to the Maine Department of Transportation to pay for 62 DC Fast Charger ports and 520 Level 2 charging ports. The 582 ports will add to the 1,019 already in operation at 467 sites, according to Efficiency Maine, a quasi-state agency that develops energy efficiency programs.
DC, or direct current, fast charging ports provide anywhere from 100 miles to more than 200 miles of driving range for each 30 minutes of charging, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Level 2 charging gives motorists about 25 miles of range per one hour of charging.
The project is one of 47 in 22 states and Puerto Rico totaling $623 million to help build out the nation’s charging network for electric vehicles, which have become increasingly popular. President Joe Biden has set a goal of at least 500,000 publicly available chargers by 2030.
The project, which also includes $3 million in state funding, will serve urban and rural areas and include disadvantaged communities, officials said. Chargers are planned for communities in all parts of Maine: from Old Orchard Beach to Calais; and from Machias to Mexico.
Progress on building out the network so far has been slow. Ohio and New York are the only states that have opened charging stations under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. Several other states, including Pennsylvania and Maine, have broken ground on federally funded projects and are expected to open stations early this year. Twenty-eight states and Puerto Rico have awarded contracts to build chargers or have accepted bids to do so.
Since Biden took office in 2021, EV sales have more than quadrupled, reaching more than 1 million last year. The number of publicly available charging ports has grown by nearly 70% to 168,426, White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said. That’s about one-third of the Biden administration goal, with six years remaining.
Building out an EV charging network has been a critical part of the debate in Maine over establishing new rules requiring electric vehicle use. An “Advanced Clean Cars II” plan would require zero-emission vehicles to make up 43% of new car sales for 2028 models and 82% of new sales by model year 2032. Those include electric and fuel-cell vehicles, along with a partial credit for plug-in hybrids. Environmentalists are urging action to reduce tailpipe fumes that account for a large part of greenhouse gas emissions.
The proposal has drawn criticism from car dealers, Republicans and others who say EVs are too costly for low-income Mainers and that EVs don’t have the charging range to drive across the state’s vast rural areas areas. The state Board of Environmental Protection will vote on the proposal as early as next month.
The Maine Climate Council’s December 2020 report, “Maine Won’t Wait,” said transportation is the biggest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. It recommended “long-term and large-scale electrification” of the state’s transportation systems and efforts to reduce vehicle miles traveled.
Reporting from the Associated Press is included in this story.
This story will be updated.
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