The Maine Department of Transportation intends to install 12 more electrical vehicle charging stations across the state.

Financing for the expansion comes from a first award of over $6 million from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, which is part of the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Recharge Maine, the state program dedicated to expanding electrical vehicle charging access, predetermined seven locations to receive this grant in Bangor, Augusta and near Route 1.

A Combined Charging System (CCS) connector is plugged into an electric vehicle at a charging station in Anaheim, Calif., on June 9. Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

The locations covered in the initial grant include the Shell station on Stillwater Avenue in Bangor; Tesla Inc. on Civic Center Drive in Augusta; ReVision Energy on High Street in Ellsworth; D&C Properties on East Main Street in Searsport; Tesla Inc. on Maverick Street in Rockland; Irving station on Atlantic Highway in Waldoboro; and the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority on Atlantic Avenue in Brunswick.

In addition to the award from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, Recharge Maine also procured funds from the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan to install five additional charging sites. These sites will be located at the Irving station on Medway Road in Medway; Universal EV on North Street in Houlton; True Upside Consulting on Clark Siding Road in Ashland; True Upside Consulting on Houlton Road in Danforth; and Universal EV on Main Street in Machias.

These stations – expected to be operational next year – will grow the electric vehicle charging network, which now has 708 Level 2 community charging plugs. Those facilities can provide 14 to 35 miles of range per hour. There are also 216 DC fast-charging ports, which provide almost 250 miles of range per hour, across the state.

“This funding will help expand our state’s EV charging network, reducing range anxiety for EV users who live, work, and travel in Maine,” MaineDOT Commissioner Bruce Van Note said in a release announcing the plan. “Increasing electrification of vehicles will help improve our quality of life by reducing carbon emissions from the transportation sector.”

These installations are part of the Maine Plan for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment passed by MaineDOT in July 2022. In the next few years, Maine will receive around $18 million from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program.