Published: 2/23/2021 10:26:03 PM
Modified: 2/23/2021 10:26:03 PM
RANDOLPH — Vermont this week said it has reached a deal with a Florida company to install plug-in “fast charge” stations for electric vehicles at 11 locations near major highways or ski areas across the state.
The chargers, which will cost $1.7 million and will be installed over the next two years, will mean that “nearly every Vermonter will be within 30 miles of a fast-charge station,” state officials said in a news release on Monday announcing the plan.
The locations include Randolph, which is along Interstate 89, and Springfield, Vt., which as an exit on Interstate 91, plus the Windsor County town of Ludlow, Vt., home to Okemo Mountain Resort off Route 103.
The town of Wilmington, home to Mount Snow and based on Route 9 in southern Vermont, will also get the chargers.
Other locations include Newport, Vt., Enosburgh, St. Johnsbury, Johnson, South Hero, Fair Haven and Rutland.
The chargers are being installed by Miami Beach-based Blink Charging Co. and could be used by any driver of an electric vehicle, state officials said.
“We are excited to continue expanding our footprint in New England and helping provide a robust network of DC fast charging stations across Vermont,” Blink CEO Michael D. Farkas said in a company news release. “Vermont has already seen a huge increase in EV registrations, so the time is right for Blink to help expand the state’s EV charging infrastructure.
The EV charging stations will provide up to 225 miles of range with a 30-minute charge, and Gov. Phil Scott said the fast-charging network along highway corridors “will also prepare Vermont for commercial travel and tourism as the transportation sector continues to electrify.”
Vermont is paying for the network via an agreement between Blink and the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development, using money received from Volkswagen to settle an emissions-cheating scandal by the German automaker.
Vermont has thus far spent $2.7 million from the Volkswagen settlement to install 86 level 2 and 16 fast charge stations.
Officials with Electrify America, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, recently filed paperwork with the city of Lebanon to build four fast-charging stations along Route 12A, near the Interstate 89 interchange in West Lebanon.