Employees and board members from Missoula Electric Cooperative, Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Seeley Lake Community Foundation gathered to celebrate the two new Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Seeley Lake located in the Seeley Lake Community Foundation parking lot. The stations were live June 30 and have been used more than 30 times.
Missoula Electric Cooperative brought their demo car, a Chevrolet Bolt and are demonstrating how it connects to the fast charger.
SEELEY LAKE – Missoula Electric Cooperative (MEC) and the Seeley Lake Community Foundation (SLCF) hosted a formal ribbon cutting ceremony to unveil the first electric vehicle charging station in Seeley Lake Aug. 17. Representatives from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) were also present to celebrate the partnership that leaders on this project feel are "keeping Seeley Lake relevant" for locals and tourists into the future.
MEC General Manager Mark Hayden first credited the MEC board for challenging MEC to think forward and about the future of electricity.
He said the first step was installing solar panels in and around communities they serve. Now, it is a shift in how they think about transportation.
MEC received a grant from DEQ's "Fast Charge Your Ride" program, which offset a significant portion of the installation costs for the EV station. The Volkswagen Clean Air Act Civil Settlement funds projects focused on reducing nitrous oxide emissions produced by the transportation sector.
Hayden said DEQ recognized Seeley Lake as a destination community for tourists. The MEC Board also discussed keeping Seeley Lake relevant with locals and tourist. While Highway 93 is a designated corridor and Highway 83 is not, adding an EV charging station on Highway 83 will provide EV motorists another option that brings them to Seeley Lake.
Hayden reached out to the Foundation as a possible location for the EV Charging Station. He said it was an ideal location due to being centrally located, close proximity to local shopping and dining and the Foundation's community-focused values, which align well with the Cooperative's.
"There is no better entity to work with here in the Seeley Lake community than the Foundation," Hayden said.
"It was an honor when Mark approached us about thinking to the future and how we can help Seeley Lake's economy remain relevant here and try and provide resources for this community," said Claire Muller, the SLCF executive director.
With the oversight of MEC's Manager of Member Services Dan Rogers, the EV Station was installed this spring. It went live June 30.
The charging station features a direct-current, fast charger and a dual-head level-two charger. The fast charger can provide 200 miles of battery per hour spent charging, while the level two charger will provide 25 miles of battery per hour. Rogers said it has been used more than 30 times since it became operational.
"The Co-op is fortunate to serve rural communities like Seeley Lake and expand accessibility to a new category of travelers," Hayden said adding his praise for the collaboration with the Foundation and DEQ. "As the first cooperative in Montana to install and own a DC Fast Charging station in Montana, we are excited to do our part and set the pace for clean energy solutions in our corner of the world."
Muller echoed Hayden's praise for the partnership.
She said, "We could not make things happen here without working together and through partnerships to make incredible things happen for Seeley Lake."
For more information on electric vehicles or to find an EV charging station, visit https://missoulaelectric.com/energy-services/ and https://www.plugshare.com/
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