The Maryland General Assembly recently approved a $63.1 billion operating budget, with an investment of $2.1 billion in Prince George’s County. Funds will go to some major projects in Greenbelt, including rebuilding Springhill Lake Elementary School, renovating and expanding the Greenbelt Museum and developing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the city.
Kevin Carpenter-Driscoll, environmental coordinator for Public Works, confirmed that the city has been awarded a government bond bill of $150,000 to develop EV charging infrastructure. They had just received the notification and couldn’t yet say how many charging stations this injection of funding will mean for the city. Each time charging stations are developed, the cost is very site-specific, Carpenter-Driscoll told the News Review. At any given location cost will depend on a number of things, including where the power source is, he explained. While Carpenter-Driscoll can’t say how many charging stations residents can look forward to, he did say they will put in “as many as possible” and at more locations.
Public Works is now early in the planning process for the increased infrastructure and Carpenter-Driscoll couldn’t say which sites will be selected for the stations. However, the recently renovated Buddy Attick parking lot, which didn’t have the budget for EV chargers, incorporated the infrastructure to service EVs in the future (see “Buddy Attick Park Soon Will Have Greener Parking” in the October 27, 2022 issue) and perhaps this will be its opportunity.