Ontario is constructing nearly 500 electric vehicle charging stations across the province and three will be built in the Northumberland-Quinte region.
On Wednesday, the province announced the $20 million investment in the charging stations. The contribution comes from Ontario’s $325 million Green Investment Fund, which supports projects that fight climate change.
Belleville, Campbellford and Port Hope will each receive one new Level 3 charging station. (L3 – charges to about 80 percent of full power within 30 minutes.) The region has about 10 Level 2 charging stations between Colborne and Napanee.
In an interview, Minister of Transportation Hon. Steven Del Duca told Quinte News that this announcement is unprecedented in Canada.
Northumberland-Quinte West MPP Lou Rinaldi is out of the country on holidays however agreed in a press release that this is great news for drivers.
“With more public charging stations available, electric vehicle owners can now plan longer trips with more confidence that a charging station is as readily available as a gas station,” he said.
Electric vehicle drivers will be able to travel from Windsor to Ottawa or from Toronto to North Bay as well as in and around major urban centres.
The stations which will be placed at more than 250 locations including highways, workplaces and public spaces are all expected to be in service by the end of March 2017.
(Belleville – Tim Horton’s at 218 Bell Blvd. Campbellford – Tim Horton’s at 148 Grand Road and Port Hope – McDonald’s at 175 Rose Glen Road North)
In addition to adding the network of stations to the Ontario 511 interactive map, the station location data will be posted on the Ontario Open Data Catalogue.
The province provides up to $14,000 in incentives for electric vehicle buyers as it aims for electric cars to make up 5% of new vehicle sales by 2020. It said there are nearly 7,000 electric vehicles currently on the roads in Ontario.
To find a electric vehicle charging station in your area log on to http://www.caa.ca/evstations/
