Charlottesville recently opened a new electric car charging station, the fourth and fastest one in the city.
The new charger is known as a DC Fast Charger and uses a higher number of amperes than other car chargers in Charlottesville. Alleyn Harned, executive director of Virginia Clean Cities — a nonprofit devoted to promoting alternative fuel vehicles and technologies in Virginia — said this new station is part of a network of more than 500 throughout the state.
“There are charging stations in every major city in Virginia,” Harned said. “[Charlottesville] has a really good electric vehicle infrastructure grant, it’s a helpful program and it’s totally unique in the state.”
The grant program helps businesses install electric chargers, Harned said. Many businesses are planning to install them, and Harned said he expects the effort to continue indefinitely.
Virginia is 17th in the nation in terms of number of electric vehicle charging stations, according to U.S. Department of Energy numbers released Thursday.
Adding charging stations throughout the state — and the nation — is part of what is needed to help make owning an electric car non-burdensome, Architecture student Kimberly O’Keeffe said.
“For [electric cars] to make an impact, you have to have a lot of charging locations…and more public knowledge of them, so that owning an electric car isn’t a burden,” O’Keeffe said.
City Council member Kristin Szakos said the new charger is as much about economic development as it is about sustainability.
“It will make it easier for people to get an electric car because they know they can get it charged here,” she said. “And it might make people more likely to stop and see our shops.”
Other areas that have increased ease of travel for electric cars have seen positive economic outcomes, Harned said.
“People who come to charge their vehicles will spend more,” Harned said. “That’s something other areas have experienced.”
The environmental impact of electric cars and charging stations is valuable as well, he said.
“As we’re seeing challenges in the automotive industry, there are ways we can move to renewable energy and zero emission vehicles today,” Harned said. “Electric vehicles are a lot cleaner for the environment.”
Charging stations like these are a good way to reduce Charlottesville’s carbon footprint, Szakos said.
“It’s important to lower our carbon footprint collectively, and we need to make it as easy as possible for people to do that,” Szakos said.
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