Electric vehicle owner Tom McLean, NB Power director of product development Brad Wasson, Irving Oil director of retail operations Tyler McLaughlin and Fredericton MP Matt DeCourcey at the first fast-charging station unveiling (Image: Cara Smith/Huddle Today)

LINCOLN – Representatives from Irving Oil and NB Power were on site at Irving’s Lincoln Big Stop today to unveil the first of seven fast-charging stations for electric vehicles (EV) in New Brunswick.

The seven charging stations are part of a larger project by NB Power to have 10 new fast-charging stations operational by the end of this month. These fast chargers are capable of recharging all-electric vehicle batteries up to 80 per cent in about 30 minutes.

“We’ve been working away at this off and on for about four years and we’ve had the level two chargers (240 volt), the smaller chargers, we have a number of those in the province today,” NB Power director of product development Brad Wasson said.

“This is all about these level 3 chargers (400 volt). These are the fastest ones available on the market today.”

The new fast-charging station corridor, which is made up of stations located at 65-kilometre intervals along the TransCanada Highway, will add to NB Power’s existing eCharge Network of standard level charging stations across the province.

RELATED: NB Power Launches Charging Station Network for Electric Cars

Financial support of $500,000 from Natural Resources Canada has enabled NB Power to purchase and install the new stations.

“This is something very new for us,” saidTyler McLaughlin, Irving Oil director of retail operations. “We need to anticipate what our customers want today. We need to anticipate what our customers want in the future and that’s what we’re doing here.

“We hope that we’re able to provide an alternative for people driving electric vehicles, and as people buy more electric vehicles then that’s to come.”

Other Irving Oil locations for the fast-charging stations will include the Big Stops in Aulac, Salisbury and Grand Falls as well as sites in Youngs Cove, Woodstock and Moncton. The network will also include stations at the Edmundston Truck Stop, Johnson Guardian in Perth-Andover and Petro-Canada in Prince William.

Wasson said that while New Brunswick may have been a bit behind when it comes to the adoption of electric vehicles, they’re seeing public interest in switching over to the greener choice grow.

“It is happening now in New Brunswick and the interest is growing, not only amongst residential customers that are buying their own personal electric vehicle, but also by businesses that maybe are adding them to fleets,” Wasson said.

“The government has set some targets they’d like to see for New Brunswick and I think the buzz around electric vehicles is growing and it aligns very much with climate change and green energy and renewable energy supply.”

Electric vehicle owner Tom McLean was on-site at the unveiling to talk about why having charging stations situated along the highway like this is a step forward for EV users looking to travel greater distances.

McLean initially bought a Nissan Leaf because of his interest in reducing carbon emissions.

“When you’re travelling, that’s when these become really important,” McLean said. “Our car has a 100 to 140-kilometre range so getting to Moncton is really tough. Getting to Saint John is quite doable. With the network of chargers they’re putting in place here, now I can zip over the Moncton, I can zip over to Woodstock.”