Maryland is taking a proactive approach to encourage the use of electric vehicles around the state. With the advent of a new network of public charging stations, Marylanders who choose renewable energy electric vehicles now have more places to plug in and fuel up.
Using a $500,000 grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the program includes the installation of charging stations at Baltimore area locations. Charging stations will be installed at 10 municipal parking garages throughout Baltimore City. A partnership formed by the Baltimore Electric Vehicle Initiative and two Maryland companies, SemaConnect of Annapolis and Autoflex of Baltimore, plans to install 55 charging stations in other locations around the state, including Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland College Park, Frederick Community College, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Hilton hotel in Waldorf, the White Marsh park-and-ride, and several office buildings in Montgomery County.
Two chargers were recently installed at the Fitzgerald mixed-use development in downtown Baltimore. The chargers are accessible to residents of the LEED-designed Fitzgerald apartment complex, neighboring stores, the Lyric Opera House, and the University of Baltimore campus. Chargers are also being installed in Owings Mills at the College Square shopping center.
The rollout of so many public charging stations will make Maryland the number two state in the country for available EV chargers. Only California has more. The MEA considers the installation of public charging stations to be the cornerstone of their efforts to make Maryland an EV-ready state. The Maryland Energy Administration plans to have 65 charging stations available for public use by the end of June 2011. A full list of Maryland's public charging stations is available at the MEA website.
Writer: Amy McNeal
Source: Maryland Energy Administration