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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 J U N E 2 5 , 2 0 1 8 F O C U S E N E RGY Statewide Prac ce. Local Service. 1-800-564-0111 | eatonpeabody.com Augusta | Bangor | Brunswick | Ellsworth | Portland aine has one of the high- est energy costs in the nation. If there's a silver lining, it has the lowest energy costs in New England. As these stories partly illustrate, that may be in part because Maine has natu- ral resources that help reduce the dependence on fossil fuel or fuel we don't produce here. Maine's largest power plant is run by petroleum oil, on Cousins Island, so we don't want to over- state that. Still, as the following stories illustrate, Maine is looking to its natural resources — wind, solar and hydropower — as viable sources of energy. In this focus on energy, instead of delving deeply into one or two issues, we decided with this issue to take a broader look with brief stores highlighting what's new. S TA R T I N G R I G H T H E R E » M Electric vehicle public infrastructure coming to Maine B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r M aine is developing electric vehicle infrastructure as part of a plan to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. EV consumer demand is rising, says Securing America's Future Energy, citing 2017 fi gures: ¡ 140,000+ EVs sold in the U.S. ¡ Battery electric vehicles accounted for 53% of sales. ¡ Tesla, Nissan, General Motors and Toyota introduced new models. Speakers at a recent EV Symposium held by Mount Desert Island's A Climate To Thrive say Maine is suited to EV use because nearly two-thirds of Maine's net electricity generation comes from renewable energy resources, including hydroelectricity, biomass and wind. The cost of fueling a vehicle with electricity compared to a similar gasoline vehicle is about half the cost of gas. Maine's embrace of trends is high- lighted as the state's Effi ciency Maine Trust rolls out EV infrastructure along priority travel corridors from mid-2018 through mid-2020, funded by $3.15 mil- lion of Maine's $22 million share from the VW Environmental Mitigation Trust. The build-out is divided into three ini- tiatives, says Effi ciency Maine Executive Director Michael Stoddard. 1. Establish a foundation of Level 3 fast- charge infrastructure along I-95/I-295 Kittery to Bangor, Route 201 Fairfi eld to Quebec Border, Route 1 Brunswick to Ellsworth, Route 2 Newport to New Hampshire, Route 3 Bar Harbor to Bangor, and Route 302 Portland to New Hampshire. Level 3 charges bat- teries in 20 minutes or less. Requests for host proposals begin this summer; installations to begin before Dec. 31. 2. Build additional Level 3 stations, fi lling in between foundation sites. Outreach to prospective sites expected to begin this fall. 3. Build Level 2 infrastructure at work- places, lodgings, etc. Level 2 charges in two to six hours. Level 3 chargers cost $75,000 to $100,000 per sta- tion, Level 2 $1,000 to $2,000. "Other initiatives are coming down the line," says Stoddard. "We want to send a signal to car manufacturers and others to invest in chargers, to make Maine an attractive and eligible candi- date for funding from federal and corpo- rate initiatives, and to facilitate market transformation." Kennebunk West Falmouth Freeport Naples Bethel Farmington Waterville Belfast Camden West Gardiner Skowhegan Newport Bangor Wiscasset Existing charging station Corridor 1 Corridor 2 Corridor 3 Corridor 4 Corridor 5 Corridor 6 PROPOSED EV INFRASTRUCTURE S O U R C E : Effi ciency Maine

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