MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 20, 2020
Dec. 20, 2018: The Portland Press Herald reports that Efficiency Maine has contracted for the installation of seven electric-vehicle charging stations along Maine highways from the southern part of the state to the Quebec border. In 2019, the second phase of the plan begins with the awarding of grants to 23 Maine communities to help them install Level 2 charging stations, where drivers can recharge their electric vehicles in 3 to 4 hours. The plan is to reduce the $5 billion per year that Maine drivers spend on automotive fuel from out of state, and to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide fumes in the atmosphere. Funding comes from the $21 million Maine received as part of the settlement of a case involving the car manufacturer Volkswagen, which had violated the U.S. Clean Air Act.