New Castle County plans to make 106 electric vehicle charging plugs available at public parks and libraries as part of their “100 EV Plugs Plan.”
There are currently 8 public chargers available in the county at Brandywine Hundred Library, Bear Library and Appoquinimink Library.
Four more are being added at Southern Park in Middletown.
Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and a U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant is helping to make this happen.
One factor holding some people back from purchasing an electric vehicle is range anxiety - the fear of running out of battery before reaching one’s destination.
With Delaware located along one of the nation’s biggest and busiest travel corridors, New Castle County executive Matt Meyer says this initiative can help ease that fear for those passing through the state.
“We're placing charging stations with that in mind," explained Meyer. "You can stop at the Route 9 Library, have a 10 or 15 or 20 minute high-speed charge, get a discounted cup of coffee. Maybe even take out a library book - get your Delaware library card - and charge your car at the same time. So it's going to bring traffic to the libraries and parks, as well.”
Meyer adds as more infrastructure supporting electric vehicles is built, their prices are likely to go down, helping more people make the switch from gas to electric.
The EV chargers being installed in New Castle County will have card readers, making it so users can pay by app or credit card.
Senator Tom Carper, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, says infrastructure investments like this are critical as the effects of climate change become more and more disastrous.
“We could just say ‘oh I won’t bother, it won’t affect me, maybe my grandchildren or great grandchildren.’ Well that’s the problem! Someday they’re going to grow up and I want to make sure they have a planet to grow up on and grow old on,” said Carper.
Investing in EV infrastructure will also create new jobs in the auto industry, helping to build the state’s workforce.
