March 01, 2021 Baltimore County
RANDALLSTOWN, MD — In the latest effort to promote sustainability, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski and Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) today announced a partnership to install 28 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on public sites across Baltimore County.
“Expanding access to EV chargers in public locations across Baltimore County will be essential in supporting our long-term efforts to increase the number electric vehicles on our roads, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, and help continue to combat climate change in our communities,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “This project is a great example of a public-private partnership that will support sustainable solutions and enhance our future-focused infrastructure.”
“BGE is excited to partner with Baltimore County on this important initiative to help Maryland meet its clean air and healthy Chesapeake Bay commitments,” said BGE Senior Vice President of Governmental and External Affairs Rodney Oddoye. “In the past year, BGE’s EVsmart program has created one of the fastest growing electric charging networks in Maryland, and we look forward to continued collaboration with Baltimore County and other local partners to maintain that impressive pace.”
In the fall of 2019, BGE launched the EVsmart Program Public Charging Network, a partnership between BGE and state and local governments to expand access to EV charging stations throughout central Maryland.
Through this program, EV charging stations are currently being installed at the following locations:
- Essex Park & Ride (active)
- Randallstown Community Center (active)
- Meadowood Regional Park (active)
- Arbutus Library And Senior Center (active)
- Sollers Multi-Purpose Center (active)
- Carney Park & Ride (active)
- Cockeysville Library (planned)
- Honeygo Regional Park (planned)
- Drumcastle Government Center (planned)
These charging stations are being installed at no cost to Baltimore County government.
To date, BGE has installed 113 chargers across its central-Maryland service area, including 17 in Baltimore County. All 28 Baltimore County chargers are expected to be completed by April 2021 and all 500 chargers planned for the BGE EVsmart Program are expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
To find a BGE EVsmart charger, residents can visit BGE.com/ChargerFinder.
Since taking office, the Olszewski administration has made sustainability and expanding renewable energy a key priority.
In 2019, Olszewski created Baltimore County's first Chief Sustainability Officer to lead the development of a county-wide Climate Action Plan, covering topics such as reduced energy consumption, promotion of green infrastructure and sustainable growth policy. Olszewski later convened a Youth Climate Working Group to ensure youth voices and recommendations are included in the County's Climate Action Plan and other sustainability efforts.
In 2020, the Olszewski administration launched an innovative landfill gas-to-energy system that captures methane gas and converts it to renewable energy, which is expected to offset at least 11 percent of the County's total energy consumption, and is putting the County back on track to meet renewable energy goals. At Olszewski’s direction, the Department of Public Works re-started Baltimore County’s glass recycling program, which had been sidelined since 2013.
Earlier this year, Olszewski issued an Executive Order requiring all newly constructed County facilities or major renovations to be completed to the U.S. Green Building Council’s energy efficient Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standard or higher.