Rock County is planning to place 100 solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations using funding from the federal Infrastructure and Jobs Act passed last November.
On Thursday, the Rock County Board voted 19-1 in favor of a resolution to use the stations to promote the use of electric vehicles and shift away from gas-powered automobiles.
In an email to The 69蹤獲, county Administrator Josh Smith said the as-yet undetermined amount of money requested will draw from the $7.5 billion allocated for highway safety and other infrastructure-related projects nationwide.
Each station, which is manufactured by a California-based company called Beam Global, ranges anywhere from $60,000 to $70,000 to purchase. The stations are portable and self-contained, requiring no construction work to install, according to a presentation prepared for the board.
While the initial purchase and installation of the stations will be covered by federal dollars, Smith said the county will pay for ongoing maintenance of the stations after they are installed.
Several board members discussed the importance of using the funds provided from the infrastructure bill to help advance existing electric vehicle infrastructure in the county.
I think this is a great idea. Like she (supervisor Genia Stevens) said earlier, its forward thinking to have the infrastructure ready, supervisor Ron Bomkamp said. You might not like the electric vehicles, but theyre coming, and it gives us an advantage ahead of time to have the structure in place.
The County Board voted in 2018 to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Thursdays resolution states that adding the stations will help reach that goal by providing drivers more widely available options to charge to help spur the growth of electric vehicles among residents.
Each station would be completely off the electric grid and would store energy generated by solar panels located at the top of each unit. Recharging vehicles would come at no cost to users.
Smith said the county has not yet planned the locations because the resolutions passage was merely intended to identify options. Some locations are expected to be on land not owned by the county, the resolution states.
