The State of Maryland is planning to build a $1 million network of Level 3 fast-charge electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, as outlined by the state's Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler.
The stations, which must be near major highways, will enable electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids to reach an 80% charge in less than 30 minutes. The specific locations are yet to be determined but are expected to stretch from Garrett County to Ocean City, to southern Maryland and beyond.
In the coming months, the $1 million grant program will be advertised to private-sector businesses and will be administered and monitored by the Maryland Energy Administration.
The money for the project was secured from a settlement with American Electric Power Service Corp., over violations of the Clean Air Act. The legal case was brought by Gansler, the Maryland Department of the Environment, multiple other states, the federal government and 13 citizen groups.
According to the Attorney General, Maryland would be among the first eastern states to introduce Level 3 stations to highway travel. At last count, an estimated 3,000 electric vehicles were registered in Maryland, which has set a goal of 60,000 electric vehicles by 2020 – the equivalent of 2.3% of all registered passenger vehicles in the state.
