By WILLIAM CLARK
Neptune will soon be home to a fast charging station for electric vehicles or EVs.
The station will be able to charge electric vehicles in 30 to 60 minutes according to Deputy Mayor Keith Cafferty. Two grants, one from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and the other from the Department of Environmental Protection, will cover the majority of the cost. Cafferty said the township is currently looking for grants from utility provider JCP&L to cover the remaining cost. If the grant falls through, Neptune will cover the difference.
“We try to find as much grant money as possible to help taxpayers,” Cafferty said.
The location of the charging station is still being finalized as the township receives estimates for construction.
The timeline for completion is still in flux, according to Cafferty.
“We don’t have a hard time, we’re going to move quickly on it,” he said. “Some things are on backorder. We’re going to have to wait and follow the process as fast as we can.”
With electric vehicles becoming more common, questions surround the readiness of infrastructure around the nation to support the booming industry. Drivers currently must consider the range their vehicles can achieve and the availability of stations at their destinations. Other obstacles include nonuniformity of charging ports. Cafferty is unsure at this point of which adapters the fast charging stations will be equipped with.
Cafferty, who is also a member of the township Green Team, knows the importance of making the community more EV friendly. This new endeavor will go far in terms of the township’s hope to exceed its bronze certification and receive silver for the first time in its membership in the program.
“The Green Team has been actively looking at locations and getting ideas for not just charging stations but how we can be a more sustainable town,” he said. “My hope is to find better ways to lead Neptune into the future of environmental causes.”
