By Roseanna Sacco

SWEET SPRINGS, W.Va. – The first Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station in Monroe County, W.Va. was installed on the wall of the Water Bottling plant at the Sweet Springs Resort Park on Saturday, Sept. 3.

After preparing the wiring, drilling the necessary holes through the concrete blocks and installing the charger, Supervisor Randy DuPre stood back and smiled with satisfaction. The charger’s green light was ON and the digital screen was active.

Those present, including Ashby Berkley, Arietta DuPre and Jerry Richmond gathered excitedly around the charger to celebrate what Berkley called “yet another significant moment in the history of the Sweet Springs Resort.” He added, “I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dave Roper for donating this charging station to the Park and for his ongoing participation in moving this project forward. Can you imagine how amazed Thomas Jefferson, who liked the dreams of the future better than the history of the past, would be to witness this development?”

The Lectron Level 2 charger was donated to the Park by Dave Roper, physicist and Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech. Dr. Roper has participated in a series of Sustainable Future Forums held at the Resort over the past five years where his Tesla Model 3 has been on display and the free test drives of it he offered to the public have been much appreciated by visitors. His dissertations at the Forum on ‘Entropy, Complexity and Sustainability’ have contributed immensely to understanding the fundamental principles underlying “The Wise Use of Energy.”

In a phone conversation informing him of the successful installation, Roper stated: “This will put the Sweet Springs Resort Park on the map and open this important economic development project and cherished historical venue to a whole new category of tourists.”

The Lectron Level 2 EV charging station can charge all EVs with a J1772 standard charging port. It will charge a car 8 times faster than a standard outlet. With 40 amps and 9.6 kW it will charge 36 miles of range per hour.

The Sweet Springs Resort Park is located at 19540 Sweet Springs Valley Road here. The entrance to the charging station is located at the Sweet Springs Event Parking sign, visible on the right by drivers heading northeast from Union on Route 3 merging straight onto Route 311 and on the left by drivers heading southeast on Route 311 toward Paint Bank, Newcastle, Roanoke, Salem or heading southwest towards Gap Mills and the Monroe County seat of Union. The gate at the entrance is kept closed but not locked. The Resort cordially asks drivers to please close the gate after leaving the charging station.

For further information on the facilities, or to reserve overnight lodging, please call (304) 536-4743 during business hours.

Up next is an article from Dr. David Roper, “The Case for Electric Vehicles”

To consult the EV charging map, please visit: www.plugshare.com.