Middle Tennessee city unveils electric vehicle fast-charging station
Springfield residents can charge their electric vehicles closer to home after the city unveiled its first electric vehicle fast-charging station Thursday at City Hall on North Main Street.
Officials with the city, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Valley Authority celebrated the occasion. Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony and inaugural charge, the new charging station, capable of charging two vehicles at a time, will be made available to the public, a press release said.
According to springfieldtn.gov, drivers can expect to utilize the station at a rate of 48 cents per kilowatt-hour 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
“The station represents our commitment to embrace innovative solutions for the benefit of our community,” Springfield Electric Director Terry Resha said in the release.
“The station is also convenient to Highway 41 and will draw motorists to visit downtown businesses while their vehicles charge.”
As officials anticipate the number of electric vehicles on roadways will climb over the next decade, Springfield Electric is working to help Tennessee meet motorists’ needs with charging infrastructure, the release said.
Installation of the charging station was sponsored by a Volkswagen Diesel Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust grant from the TDEC and is part of the Fast Charge TN Network, a partnership between the TVA and TDEC working to cover major travel corridors across TVA’s service area, it said.
“TVA is partnering with local power companies like Springfield Electric and state agencies like TDEC to invest in charging infrastructure across the Tennessee Valley region because electric vehicles benefit everyone,” TVA Regional Vice President Justin Maierhofer said in the release.
“These investments allow TVA to save drivers money and attract good jobs and tourism — all powered by electricity from Springfield Electric and TVA.”
TDEC Deputy Commissioner Greg Young agreed, noting the department’s dedication to building on the state’s environmental and economic momentum.
“Tennessee’s air is cleaner as measured by federal air quality standards than it has been in generations, and a clean environment helps drive economic development,” Young said in the release.
“TDEC is partnering with TVA and the City of Springfield on the development of this station to continue Tennessee’s environmental and economic momentum while further entrenching our state as the epicenter of the electric vehicle transition.”
Katie Nixon can be reached at knixon@gannett.com.
