Columbia Gateway Crossing Workplace Charging Funded by Maryland Charge Ahead Grant Program

Ten Level 2 charging stations have recently been installed in the Gateway Crossing office complex in Columbia, Maryland.

These are some of the first workplace electric vehicle charging stations to be funded by the Maryland Charge Ahead Grant Program (CAGP).

There are four dual-port EV charging stations located in the rear of 7175 Columbia Gateway Drive. These will accommodate up to eight electric vehicles charging at the same time.

The stations at this address are already turned on and I’ve seen a Mustang Mach-E and a Tesla Model 3 there during the week. There is a credit card reader on each of the charging stations but I’m not sure if payment will be required or what the price will be.

There are three Level 2 stations with six charging ports located on the north side of 7165 Columbia Gateway Drive. These stations are placed at the edge of the sidewalk in front of the building.

The project requirements for signs in the Guidelines for Maryland Charge Ahead Grant Program state:

Signage
In order to enable EV drivers to locate and identify charging sites, the project shall include signage which shall be displayed on the grounds of the project site(s) as follows:
● General Requirements: Signage complies with all applicable local, state, and/or federal laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards.
● On-Site: Clearly identifies the location(s) of the charging stations. On-site signage should identify parking is reserved for electric vehicles only.

Three more dual-port Level 2 stations are located in the middle of the parking lot on the south side of 7165 Columbia Gateway Drive. There are a total of 12 charging ports associated with the 6165 Columbia Gateway Drive address. These stations have not been energized as of January 24, 2022.

Electric Vehicle Institute (EVI) has been approved to install 60 Level 2 ports at six buildings in the Columbia Gateway office complex. $234,000 in total funding from the CAGP grant has been approved for those 60 charging ports. So far I’ve only found stations that account for 20 of those ports.

Maryland Charge Ahead Grant Program

The Maryland Charge Ahead Grant Program uses funds from the Volkswagen Mitigation Settlement. Maryland was allocated $75.6 million from the settlement and up to 15% of that amount can be used to install light-duty EV Service Equipment.

Maryland is releasing the CAGP funding in three rounds of grants. The first round includes $642,942 for 74 workplace charging stations with 145 ports at 24 locations.

Information on the second round of CAGP funding can be found at: Maryland Volkswagen Mitigation Plan.