Park. Plug. Fly.
The Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority board has signed an agreement with a subsidiary of Florida-based CarCharging Group Inc. to install two electric vehicle charging stations at Harrisburg International Airport.
The direct current fast charging stations, which will be operated under an agreement with CarCharging Group subsidiary Blink Network LLC, will give passengers and visitors the ability to charge their electric vehicles while they traveling or waiting to pick up other passengers.
SARAA officials said the first station, in the airport’s cellphone lot, will be ready during the first quarter of 2016. The second station will be installed at a later time in the parking garage, SARAA said.
CarCharging Group, which has more than 13,550 charging stations in 35 states, has been awarded a Pennsylvania Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant to install electric car charging stations throughout the state.
Its installations include locations along the Pennsylvania Turnpike at New Stanton, Bowmansville, and Elverson, but none yet in the midstate. The HIA stations will offer turnpike drivers a charging option midway between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, SARAA officials said.
A full charge takes approximately 30 minutes. The cost to use the stations will be 49 cents per kilowatt-hour for guests or 39 cents per kilowatt-hour for members of the free Blink program.
SARAA will receive 7 percent of net revenues generated from the sale of car-charging services.
Each station will feature two connection points and be available for users 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center, there are more than 20 electric vehicle charging sites operated by businesses within a 40-mile radius of Harrisburg.
The state’s greatest concentration of charging stations can be found in greater Philadelphia, followed by the Pittsburgh area, the DOE site shows.
