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Province announces funding for electric vehicle charging stations in southern Alberta

Feb 4, 2019 | 3:38 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB — The province is investing money to help install additional charging stations for electric vehicles in southern Alberta.

Environment Minister Shannon Phillips announced $1.2 million in funding Monday afternoon at Lethbridge College, which will allow 20 fast charging stations to be installed throughout southern Alberta, including in Medicine Hat, under the Peaks to Prairies Southern Alberta Electric Vehicle Network.

“Supporting new electric vehicle charging stations will help Alberta transition to a lower-carbon future,” said Phillips in a statement. “This grassroots initiative is proof that Albertans are leading the way in projects that diversify our economy, create jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.”

The funding comes from the province’s Climate Leadership Plan, according to a news release. The charging stations, which will be owned and operated by ATCO, are expected to be online by December 2019, and will cover more than 1,700 kilometres of highway in southern Alberta.

Peaks to Prairies involves several organizations, including the City of Lethbridge, Medicine Hat College, the City of Calgary, SouthGrow Regional Initiative and Alberta SouthWest Regional Alliance. The discussions for the project began in 2016.

Tracy Stroud, manager of business development at Medicine Hat College, was in Lethbridge for the announcement.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for our community,” she said. “I’ve even had calls from Saskatchewan, saying ‘we have electric vehicles, when are you going to have your infrastructure in place, because we’d like to bring our vehicles that way?’

“It’s very exciting in terms of tourism potential, retail potential, and then for our students at Medicine Hat College, it provides a lot of learning opportunities. With any new technology coming in, we want to make sure students have firsthand learning experiences.”

The charging stations will be powered by renewable energy in southeast Alberta, the release states.

A full list of locations where charging stations are expected to be installed can be found below.

-Lethbridge

-Canmore

-Morley

-Calgary – Olympic Park

-Calgary – Stoney Trail

-Calgary – East

-Calgary – Signal Hill

-Nanton

-Claresholm

-Crowsnest Pass

-Pincher Creek

-Fort Macleod

-Taber

-Medicine Hat

-Chain Lakes Reservoir

-Carmangay

-Waterton Lakes

-Cardston

-Warner

-Longview