City of Windsor to add 22 electric vehicle charging stations

Windsor, Ont. -

The City of Windsor is investing $525,000 to install 11 new electric vehicle charging stations capable of charging 22 electric vehicles throughout the city.

The expansion was announced Tuesday as part of the city’s plans to advance the goals of its economic diversification plan, Windsor Works, and the Community Energy Plan.

“An expanded electric charging network will help the City stay on track to meet our community’s energy efficiency and climate mitigation goals,” mayor Drew Dilkens says. “It also supports the next step of automobility by ensuring our region is at the forefront of innovation in the vehicle manufacturing sector, in alignment with the Windsor Works strategy to diversify the local economy.”

The investment is supported by in-kind contributions from ENWIN Utilities.The new charging stations will be installed at “strategic locations” throughout Windsor to make it easier for EV and hybrid drivers to charge up. There will be 11 stations each featuring a duel connector able to charge two vehicles at once for a total of 22 charging spaces.

Construction of the first station at a municipal lot at 1025 Elsmere Avenue will begin this month.

The installation of all 11 station stations is expected to be completed by March 2022 at the following locations:

• Municipal Garage 2, 406 Pelissier Street
• WFCU Centre, 8787 McHugh Street
• Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex, 2555 Pulford Street
• Municipal Lot 5, 78 Riverside Drive West
• Municipal Lot 35, 1025 Elsmere Avenue
• Municipal Lot 34, 1 Festival Plaza
• Municipal Lot 4-1, 0 Lincoln Road at Ottawa Street
• Municipal Lot 10, 445 City Hall Square
• Mic Mac Park Complex, 1125 Prince Road

The city says during the initial stage, charging services will be available to drivers for free to allow administration to collect data to determine the future needs of Windsor’s electric vehicle infrastructure.

Currently, there are 164 full electric vehicles and 241 plug-in hybrid vehicles registered in the City of Windsor.

“The Electric Vehicle Society, Windsor-Essex Chapter, would like to congratulate the City of Windsor and express our support for the construction of 22 EV charging spaces that will be located throughout Windsor,” says Pino Mastroianni, president of the Electric Vehicle Society Windsor-Essex. “The City has taken a lead in many efforts in transitioning to electric vehicles, such as enjoying the benefits of an electrified fleet and installing charging locations downtown Windsor, and we highly commend their efforts.”

The city had already operated one EV charging station at the Windsor International Aquatic and Training Centre as part of a trial run. The new project is part of the city’s commitment to invest $1.6 billion over 10 years to upgrade and improve infrastructure.