Politics & Government

Vehicle Charging Stations Installed at County Building

Two electric vehicle charging stations have been installed at the Macomb County Building in Mount Clemens.

Visitors to the county seat in Mount Clemens for government business, classes at Oakland University or taking advantage of the entertainment options will be able to charge their electric vehicles at the Macomb County Building.

DTE Energy, in partnership with General Motors and a Department of Energy grant, installed the charging stations in the parking lot of the County Building parking lot.

"The (General Motors) Tech Center is doing a lot of the advancements when it comes to battery technology. Here we are trying to create an opportunity for (GM and DTE)  to put these charging stations in," said Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, who drove a Volt to the demonstration of the new charging stations. "There is a lot of potential here for the future of dealing with batteries and the automotive industry."

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Macomb is one of first county governments in Metro Detroit to have a charging station located in its parking lot. The stations, which cost about $20,000 each, were installed by DTE and General Motors and are free to use by owners of all electric vehicles.

"It is a good opportunity to support the county and DTE. The demand for the vehicle is just fantastic ... every month we sell more and more of them," said John Blanchard, director of local government relations for General Motors. "This technology is the wave of the future."

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The Volt, which was used in the demonstration Monday, has a 9.3 gallon gas tank which powers the vehicle after the battery is depleted. The average car can drive 40-50 miles before the battery needs to be recharged.

"It makes good sense to make these charging stations available around our service territory," said Ron Chriss, DTE regional manager of corporate and government affairs. 

County Commissioner Roland Fraschetti, R-St. Clair Shores, who said he is in the market for an electric car and attended the demonstration, said he would like to see the county governments in Metro Detroit go the next step in showcasing electric vehicles by creating a race track for the electric vehicles at the former State Fairgrounds.

"We have to take the lead," he said. "We are the automotive capital of the world."

Electric car owners can also at the Mall at Partridge Creek.


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