Crown Point has welcomed two new election vehicle (EV) charging stations, although the service may soon come at a cost.
One EV charging station is located in the parking lot of the Crown Point Police Department, 124 N. East St., and the other is near the maintenance shop at the Crown Point Sportsplex, 1313 E. North St.
The new level 2 chargers offer 40 amps and two charging ports. The Crown Point City Council approved a fee of 33 cents per kilowatt hour at its February 6 meeting.
Mayor Pete Land hopes the EV stations will bring more visitors to Crown Point.
“These two charging stations offer visitors an opportunity to recharge while enjoying all the amenities the city has to offer,” he said.
He noted that Crown Point has been working with Drive Clean Indiana through the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission Green Fleet Program on building partnerships to advance affordable, efficient and clean transportation fuels and technologies throughout the community. In 2020, Crown Point joined Drive Clean Indiana partners in receiving Indiana Volkswagen grants to bring electric vehicle charging stations to Northwest Indiana.
The Indiana Volkswagen grants are funded through Gov. Eric Holcomb’s executive order in 2017 that outlined steps to distribute the state’s $40.9 million portion of the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund. The fund was formed following a settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and the Volkswagen Corporation for its violation of the federal Clean Air Act, according to Mary Freda, the city’s communications/media manager.
She noted that the city worked with Drive Clean Indiana, Ozinga Energy, NIPSCO, AmpedUp and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to see the project through.
“The installation of the two electric vehicle charging stations in Crown Point is the product of another successful partnership through the Northern Indiana Green Fleet Program,” Drive Clean Indiana Executive Director Carl Lisek said.
Indiana electrifies roadways
Two programs underway now aim to build more EV charging stations along Indiana highways to reduce range anxiety for drivers. The Federal Highway Administration recently approved about $100 million from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program for Indiana, the Indiana Department of Transportation announced. INDOT will use that money, along with some private funds, to build at least 44 Level 3 DC-Fast charging stations along the alternative fuel corridors designated by the Federal Highway Administration. Those include Interstates 65, 80 and 94 through Northwest Indiana.
The new stations would provide DC-Fast chargers. These charge batteries with direct current and are faster than Level 1 and 2 chargers, which use household-type alternating current electricity. In the future, the state hopes to add an EV corridor along U.S. 30 across northern Indiana. The national goal is to have 500,000 EV chargers across the country by 2030.
Jim Masters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Tim Zorn contributed to this report.
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