New electric car charge station makes its debut in Penfield | Community Service

Town of  Penfield is to open Monroe County's first publicly available charging station for electric cars.

A major move to clean up our environment has been made by electrical engineer and owner of the LTHS Solar Company, Bob Kanauer. He has been generous enough to donate the project engineering and charging station equipment needed to make this possible. The station will make its debut at the town's upcoming "Penfield Cleanup Day" Saturday, April 28, 9 a.m. to noon at the Community Center.

The cost to the town for the free charging station is about 33 cents per hour. One hour charge while visiting the Penfield Library would typically yield about 14 miles of charge to a car's battery. A full charge to vehicles like the Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf and the soon to be available Ford Focus Electric will take roughly three hours.

Supervisor Tony LaFountain has announced that "While the electric car's use is still in the early adopter phase, this is a perfect time for us to understand what it would take to help support an infrastructure for these vehicles." Kanuer has added that "In the next five to ten years more electric cars will be on the road. Car prices will come down and the infrastructure to support the vehicles will grow."

Lafountain has also declared that "The cost to the town for this pilot is minimal, and What we learn from this experience will help us make informed decisions regarding sustainable practices for the town in the future."

The town will monitor use of charging station use the project as a stepping stone towards more ambitious use of renewable energy at town facilities.

A ribbon-cutting for the charging station will take place at approximately 11:30 a.m  All are welcome to attend.