One of the first electric vehicle charging stations in Maine is ready for use in Falmouth.
FALMOUTH, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- With the average gas price in Maine hovering around $4 a gallon, many people are looking to reduce the pain they feel in their wallet when they pull up to the pump.
Stephen Woods, president and CEO of TideSmart Global, says his company is committed to investing in technology to help reduce their environmental impact.
"We have solar power. We have radiant heat. We have an hydronic heating system. We have special insulation," stated Woods. "All of these features are more expensive, but in the long run, we think they pay out because they are the right thing to do. They lower our energy costs and they also lower our burden and our dependence on fossil fuels."
His company's newest addition is a 208-volt electric vehicle charging station that can provide a complete charge in about four hours and is free for anyone to use.
"The reality is fossil fuels are a finite resource," he explained. "It is not just an energy issue, it has to do with healthcare, it has to do with the economy, it has to do with our debt. We are so energy dependent as a civilization, that if we don't solve this it will impact every area of our life, not just the cost of gas."
Woods says they have ordered an electric truck to add to their fleet of vehicles, and is even offering his employees a $1500 incentive if they buy an electric car for their own personal use.
While Woods says his company is investing in the infrastructure to promote the growth in use of electric vehicles, a man who maintained a web site devoted to promoting electric vehicles, and even built one from scratch by himself, says they are not a viable transportation option for most people.
"I completely lost my faith in the idea of full-size electric cars," said Bill Drinkwater. "They weigh too much, they require far too much energy to power them, and Americans don't want to compromise and go to smaller cars."
Drinkwater spent four years working on his electric car, but has now put it up for sale. He even shuttered his web site, because he doesn't think electric vehicles are the answer to the transportation problems we will be faced with in the future.
"I think the problem is the volume, the amount of electricity you need to recharge your car," he explained. "The full size electric cars will never be the future, a few of them perhaps, but we will not have the energy resources in the future to power them. It takes a tremendous amount of electricity pumped into a car to power it."
He says electric vehicles can help fill some of our needs, but electricity costs and battery storage capacity and cost will remain huge hurdles.
"If it is either an electric bicycle or a small electric car, sure it is possible, and even from your own system," he said.
There is one thing both men do agree on, the cost of remaining dependent of oil to power our homes and cars will continue to rise, impacting both our wallets and our environment.
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