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The City of Albemarle has been awarded $20,000 toward the purchase and installation of two Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations.

Program Support Specialist Jonathan Misenheimer submitted the city’s application for funding to the state. The city was awarded funding as part of the North Carolina Volkswagen Mitigation Settlement Program.

Albemarle has now installed two charging locations in the downtown area, one at the Albemarle City Hall, 144 N. 2nd St. and one at the new Police Station, 155 W. South St. Both are able to charge two vehicles simultaneously and are in service and available to the public.

In March, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality awarded its first round of funding for Level 2 charging stations totaling $422,000 as part of the North Carolina Volkswagen Mitigation Settlement Program. More than a quarter of the funding announced in the recent round was awarded in public power communities in North Carolina, one of which was Albemarle.

“Electric cars are an increasing percentage of the vehicles on the road,” Albemarle Mayor Ronnie Michael said. “Drivers of electric vehicles know where they can travel and find access to charging stations. With Albemarle on this map, that’s additional travelers to our city and exposure we receive to support our businesses and local economy. This is something our City Council has wanted to provide and we are pleased to now provide this service to the public. We are fortunate to have received a grant to cover 100 percent of the cost of the charging stations.”

The chargers are part of the SemaConnect Network. Through this network, users have access to the SemaConnect app. This system allows users to find a charging station nearby, check the cost to charge, find an open station, view charging status, manage payment methods and more. Additional information about SemaConnect can be found at https://semaconnect.com.