CMP awards grants for electric vehicle and charging stations

Central Maine Power has granted three organizations money that will allow them to take greater advantage of electric vehicles.

The Greater Portland Council of Governments, Scarborough Public Library and the Waynflete School in Portland last week were awarded money from the Plug-In Electric Vehicle Grant Program.

CMP has given more than $250,000 to 30 organizations since 2013, the company said in a news release.

The program allows grants of up to $5,000 for electric vehicles and $2,500 for charging stations to nonprofits.

GPCOG will get $4,500 to lease an all-electric Nissan Leaf. The library and school each will get $2,500 to buy and install Level 2 charging stations.

Jennifer Brennan, energy projects manager of GPCOG, said the vehicle will enhance the organization’s electric vehicle lending program, which allows its stakeholders to try out EV technology.

“We’ve found the most important factor in getting people to convert to EVs is to let them try out an EV on their own time,” she said in the news release. “We look forward to many more conversions in Maine.”

The library and school said that the charging stations will help those who want to use electric vehicles and encourage sustainability.

The CMP/Avangrid program has added nearly 20 electric vehicles to Maine’s roads and scores of new charging stations in central and southern Maine, the release said.

AVANGRID, which owns CMP, operates in 27 states and “is committed to reducing its corporate carbon footprint and being a sustainable company in its investments, actions and culture,” the release said.