Politics & Government

Camden County Flips Switch on 7 Electric Car Charging Stations

The stations, which are free to use, target consumers with electric cars and possibly entice people considering a purchase.

Calling electric cars the wave of the future, Camden County freeholders unveiled seven new electric vehicle charging stations through the county Thursday.

The stations—free to users—are part of Camden County’s overall sustainability plan.

Freeholder Jeffrey Nash, liaison to county’s Division of Environmental Affairs, cruised into a press conference Thursday in an electric Ford Fusion Energi; Ford is partnering with Camden County on the electric vehicle charging stations. He was joined by Freeholder Michelle Gentek in unveiling the stations.

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“Today, we’re going back to the future,” Nash said at the Cherry Hill campus of Camden County College. “Similar to the cell phone and the iPad, the electric vehicle is the wave of our future.”

The new charging stations are free to use thanks to a $30,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, which was matched by the county. The project totals $60,000.

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Camden County also partnered with ECOtality North America in a cost-sharing program to install the charging stations around the county to “facilitate the use of county residents’ use of electric cars.” 

Encouraging electric vehicle purchases is “important because you save money personally, you reduce your own personal carbon footprint and we reduce our dependence on foreign oil. It’s a great victory for community and self,” Nash said.

The seven Camden County electric vehicle charging stations are at:

  • Camden County Boathouse at Cooper River
  • Camden County Technical School in Gloucester Township
  • South County Regional Branch Library in Winslow Township
  • Bellmawr Branch Library
  • Camden County College’s campuses in Gloucester Township, Cherry Hill and Camden City

All of the stations are already operational and ready to juice up electric cars.

But just how high will demand be?

According to Ford Motors, about “100,000 plug-in cars have been sold in the U.S.,” and that roughly 20 have been sold in Camden County. Chris Waldron, Camden County director of sustainability, said that as electric cars are purchased in greater numbers, the county wants to provide the infrastructure for owners.

The electric vehicle charging stations, plus Camden County’s sustainability initiative, puts the region “ahead of the curve,” officials said.

Camden County has a three-part sustainability plan in the works, Nash explained.

“The first part is to register every municipality with Sustainable New Jersey and we would be the only county in the state to have done so,” he said.

“The second is to provide an information source to residents and businesses on what they can do to contribute to the environment and save money. The third part is dealing with Camden County and Camden County facilities to reduce costs and reduce our carbon footprint as a collective body.”

The county wants to make sustainability more visible and approachable, Waldron added.

“Sustainability as a concept can be very challenging for people to grasp sometimes and we’d like to coin the phrase people, planet and profit when we talk about sustainability initiatives or events or activities and I think this is a great example of that,” Waldron said.

“From the people’s side, Camden County is meeting the needs of residents, of businesses and of its municipalities by providing these charging stations.”

 


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