GAINESVILLE—Electric car drivers now have another way to charge their vehicle in Gainesville, across from the Brenau Downtown Center.
The idea was first presented to City Council members in August, when members from the company EnviroSpark Energy Solutions presented the idea before the council, but after a bidding process, the contract was awarded to Metro Plug-In, a company based in Woodstock.
The two stations cost $3,600, and the city also received two, $1,000 rebates—one each from Georgia Power and Nissan. That brought the final cost down to $1,600.
The device is a Clipper Creek HCS-40, a 32-amp unit that can charge a car from "empty" to "full" in about three and a half hours.
"Most people just want to 'top off' their cars. They don't need the full three and half hours," said Dave Unruh, with Metro Plug-In.
"They've been making these for over 15 years. They just work."
It is free to use, at least for now. City Manager Melody Marlowe said in an email that the city plans to explore the option of making users pay for the power in the future.
The charging station at the corner of Maple and Broad Streets comes with two dedicated sparking spots, and becomes the fifth charging station in Metro Gainesville. The other four are located at the Kroger on Jesse Jewell Parkway, Carriage Kia and Carriage Nissan on Browns Bridge Road, and the University of North Georgia Oakwood Campus.
"I never thought I'd see the day we had totally electric cars, but here we are," said Gainesville Mayor Danny Dunagan at the Tuesday afternoon ribbon cutting ceremony.
The idea, when council first started moving forward with the plan, was to use it as a means of bringing people to downtown Gainesville.
"Not only for environmental reasons, but economic reasons, that's a big plus," said Regina Mansfield, Main Street Gainesville Manager.
The location in the parking lot, according to Unruh, was ideal because it has a power source nearby. Mansfield said she hopes city leaders will explore the possibility of putting wall-mounted charging stations in the parking deck downtown as well.
