MARTINSBURG — Last week, the Mid-Atlantic Electrification Partnership brought increased electric vehicle charging opportunities to the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport. The official ribbon cutting was on Dec. 14 for the first solar-powered charging station.
As part of the partnership, the EWVRA received one of several electric vehicle EV chargers, as well as an electric vehicle. The charger that is currently set up is one that is solar powered — the BEAM EV ARC.
“We applied for this grant a couple of years ago, and we weren’t sure what was going to happen with it, because right after we found out that we were going to be awarded the grant for some of these charging stations and an electric vehicle, the pandemic came around, and everything stopped,” Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport CEO Nic Diehl said. “We were pleasantly surprised when we got a call from the West Virginia Office of Energy saying that it was in fact in play, and we needed to move on it.”
Diehl said that the EWVRA is the first to receive a solar-powered charging station in the state, and he said he is thrilled about that. The solar-powered charger was put in place and functional in one day. It is a standalone piece of equipment. There is no electric cost, because it is completely solar, and additionally, it will charge two cars at once.
“We are proud to offer the first Beam EV ARC solar-powered charging system in West Virginia at the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport. The EV ARC solar EV charging station supports the electrification of airport vehicles while offering local visitors and regional travelers zero-emission electric vehicle charging,” Diehl said. “We were able to quickly deploy an EV charger with no disruptive construction, no costly electrical work and no additional utility expenses. We are thrilled to have our staff and visitors driving on sunshine.”
He added that the charger is a Level 2 charger.
“It is not a rapid charger that will charge your car in 15 minutes, but it will give you some of that power to get you where you need to go,” he said.
Diehl said that the West Virginia Office of Energy has led the charge with this innovation throughout the state and has worked closely with the airport to bring this charging station and the EV to the airport.
“You can come into the terminal and spend some time in our museum or go to the restaurant, or if you’re flying in and out, when you get back, your vehicle would be charged,” Diehl said. “As we have been saying, people who charge their car on our solar charging station are driving on sunshine. We are very grateful to them for their great work and for supporting us. It is very exciting to have a charging station like this at MRB.”
A large component of the project and partnership is …….