BELFAST — The City of Belfast is opening two new electric vehicle charging stations available for public use near the Belfast Footbridge. These electric vehicle charging stations consist of two networked ChargePoint CT 4021 level 2 electric vehicle chargers. These chargers have two connectors, which allows for up to four vehicles to be charged at the same time.

On August 17, 2021, the Belfast City Council established an initial rate for users at $0.21 per kWh. The charging stations also offer a maximum 3-hour charging session, at the charger’s maximum output rate of 7.2 kW, costing the user a total of $4.54 to utilize the charging station at its maximum session capacity. Once usage data is available from the charging stations, the Belfast City Council will revisit and reevaluate the pay rate.

"The City of Belfast has been working to help lower greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions for some time," said City Councilor Brenda Bonneville, in a news release. "We now have six stations, including the four that were recently installed by ReVision Energy, to provide residents and visitors convenient and accessible places to charge their electric vehicles. This is another example of Belfast's commitment to reducing the amount of fossil fuels, reducing carbon footprint, and prioritizing the environment."

The charging station is located at the City of Belfast’s public parking lot on Bridget Street, near the intersection of Bridge Street, Front Street, and Pierce Street.

“There are 65 meters in our City and this is one of them,” said City Councilor Mike Hurley. “Our City is now about 97% generating from our own solar, it’s terrific.” 

This station was developed through a partnership of the City of Belfast, ReVision Energy, and Central Maine Power. The station is being paid for through a combination of funds from Central Maine Power’s Make-Ready Grant Program in the amount of $16,000, with the remaining costs, estimated at $30,879, being contributed by the City of Belfast.