Smithtown adds two electric vehicle charging stations

The Town of Smithtown last week added two electric vehicle charging stations to its parking lot behind town hall.

Funded by a clean energy grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the two Level 2 charging stations will be available to the public for free for the next two years, the town said in a press release.

According to ChargePoint, the California-based provider of the charging stations, the Level 2 charging standard is about five times faster than Level 1, adding about 25 miles of range per hour, and has the advantage of being part of a network of stations that customers can easily locate from a mobile device. Since they can fully charge an EV battery in roughly four to six hours, Level 2 stations are often located in places where drivers can plug in while shopping or at work.

Smithtown has been an early adopter of green initiatives, having recently completed a 50-kilowatt solar array and 10-kilowatt wind generator at the recycling center on Old Northport Road in Kings Park, and being one of the first towns in the nation to replace all of its streetlights with high efficiency LED fixtures.

Russell Barnett, Smithtown’s environmental protection director, said the town has several other clean energy initiatives planned as well. Free electric vehicle charging stations are in the works for the LIRR commuter lots in Kings Park, Smithtown and St. James. And work has started on a 72-kilowatt solar power system at the Smithtown Landing Country Club on Landing Ave., which is expected to be finished in the next year.

A solar farm is also planned for the site of the closed municipal landfill in Kings Park, which Barnett says could provide power for “most, if not all” of the town government’s electric consumption.