SOUTH PORTLAND – On Thursday, July 24, at 10:30 a.m., the city of South Portland will unveil its new DC Fast Charging Unit for electric vehicles, which was built by Nissan. The charging station is located at the Community Center, off Evans Street.

The goal is for the station to be open to the public and to allow people from all across southern Maine to recharge their all-electric vehicles in a short amount of time. In some cases the recharging will only take 30 minutes or less.

The charging station is funded by a grant from Central Maine Power, as well as Nissan, and according to Assistant City Manager Jon Jennings, it’s “an integral step in our citywide effort to reduce our carbon footprint.”

In a prior interview, Jennings also said that South Portland “has a great interest in seeking alternative energy ideas. With the installation of the fast-charging unit at the Community Center, we will begin to build the infrastructure to encourage residents and visitors to consider converting to (all)-electric vehicles.”

During the unveiling ceremony on Thursday, Mayor Gerard Jalbert is expected to be on hand, along with Portland City Councilor David Marshall and representatives from Central Maine Power and Nissan.

This week Jennings said, “The city of South Portland is excited to take our first step in developing the infrastructure that will allow greater use of electric vehicles by unveiling our new charging units at the Community Center. The city plans to add additional charging units at various municipal buildings and will look to convert our non-emergency fleet of vehicles to electric over time.”

– Kate Irish Collins

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