In January of 2012, two electric car charging stations were installed in Chelmsford - one in the parking lot of the main library, and one on Vinyl Square in North Chelmsford.

Both of these chargers were funded by a grant awarded to the Town of Chelmsford, one of 25 towns across the state to win the grant from the Department of Energy Resources. This grant not only covered the installation costs, but also cover the first two years of charges for the drivers of electric vehicles.

Two cars can charge at a time, and the chargers are activated when a driver taps their ChargePoint card on the charger's screen. The charger can then be plugged into an electric vehicle, and charges can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to recharge the car's battery, depending on how low it was. To finish the transaction, the driver taps their card on the charger again - there is also a phone number on the charger in case of questions or malfunctions.

Although there weren't many electric vehicles in the Commonwealth when these chargers were installed, the administration's goal to be prepared for them when they do become more popular. If you have any questions about the car charger, please contact the Town of Chelmsford's Public Facilities Department.

Photos of the car charger's first charge: