Environment
This Is Why: Supporting What We Believe In
- January 12, 2020
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. An electronic vehicle charging station may not change my professional research, but it 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.
Jarod Rollins, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
The MDI Biological Laboratory, in collaboration with community-based A Climate to Thrive (ACTT), recently unveiled a new electric vehicle charging station on its campus. The project will help expand the Downeast EV corridor stretching from Belfast to Eastport to Houlton, Maine.
Jarod Rollins, Ph.D.
In addition to support from ACTT, completion of this project was made possible through the generosity of Jarod Rollins, Ph.D., an assistant professor at MDIBL. According to Dr. Rollins, “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. An electronic vehicle charging station may not change my professional research, but it 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.”
The charger is one of more than a dozen stations recently installed by A Climate to Thrive, a group of Mount Desert Island residents, businesses, and towns working to achieve energy independence by 2030. The first charger 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.
Sales of EVs continue to climb nationally, and passenger EVs are becoming increasingly affordable. 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.