Press Release
Electric Vehicle charging station installed at MDI Biological Laboratory as part of Downeast EV corridor
The MDI Biological Laboratory, in collaboration with community-based A Climate to Thrive (ACTT), recently unveiled a new electric vehicle (EV) charging station on its campus. The project has helped expand EV infrastructure and further extend the Downeast charging corridor, which stretches from Belfast to Eastport to Houlton, Maine.
The project was completed with a grant from ACTT and a gift from Jarod Rollins, Ph.D., an assistant professor at MDI Biological Laboratory and native of Pittsfield, Maine. Rollins explained that his gift, and the resulting EV charging station, is a way of cementing his philosophy with action. “Supporting MDIBL’s infrastructure in a way that also helps the environment was an easy decision to make. As scientists, we are always looking for the next innovation. It is important to me that we think beyond ourselves and to the future; we need to be ahead of the curve,” he said. “An electronic vehicle charging station changes how the community interacts with the environment. By having this charging station here, it is a step towards energy independence from fossil fuels and encourages others to consider electronic vehicles as a viable option.”
A Climate to Thrive, a group of Mount Desert Island residents, businesses, and towns working to achieve energy independence by 2030, gave a $1000 grant to aid the installation on MDI Biological Laboratory’s campus. The charger is one of a dozen stations that ACTT has recently installed. The first charger in the Downeast EV corridor was installed in downtown Belfast in May of 2018, with subsequent installations in a variety of locations including Eastport City Hall, Calais, Danforth, Ellsworth, Southwest Harbor, and the Acadia Welcome Center in Trenton. All chargers are open to the public, many free of charge. Drivers can locate the chargers by using phone apps such as PlugShare.
Electric vehicles are becoming an increasingly popular transportation option as they become more affordable and the necessary support infrastructure grows and expands. For consumers, all-electric EVs use no gas, have far lower maintenance costs, and electricity costs less than gas or diesel vehicles per mile driven. ACCT’s goal is to help develop a robust charging infrastructure on Mount Desert Island and throughout eastern Maine, in order to encourage the use of EVs in the state.
MDI Biological Laboratory is excited to now be able to accommodate staff and visitors who have made the move to an electric vehicle. The charging station is located in the MDI Biological Laboratory’s South Lot as you enter the main drive.
About the MDI Biological Laboratory
We are pioneering new approaches to regenerative medicine focused on developing new therapeutic approaches that slow age-related degenerative diseases and activate our natural ability to heal. We also prepare students for 21st century careers and equip entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills and resources needed to turn discoveries into applications that improve human health and well-being. For more information, please visit mdibl.org.