Spartanburg County is on the list of South Carolina communities that will have electric car-charging stations by the time several new battery-powered vehicle models hit the market later this year.

Plug-In Carolina, a nonprofit based in Charleston, is rolling out 80 charging stations across the state with $480,000 in funding it secured this year from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

They will be deployed in Columbia, Spartanburg, Greenville, Rock Hill, Union, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Blythewood and Charleston.

Executive Director Jim Poch said the group expects to open the first 40 stations on Dec. 8. The remaining 40 will open by the end of January, with another 22 to come later.

Poch said he could not comment on the locations of the charging stations until the opening date. He did say Spartanburg was one of the communities where sites have been pre-wired.

“We're getting very excited,” Poch said. “We're opening the first 25 in Columbia and the Upstate. It should be a pretty remarkable event.”

Poch said his group has partnered with the Greenville firm Utility Partners of America (UPA) for the installations, while local governments are helping in the process by facilitating site selection and other aspects.

At 10 a.m. Dec. 8, Plug-In Carolina will have a special event to celebrate its first stations going online.

The group and representatives of some of its stakeholders will meet with state officials on the front steps of the Statehouse to plug in the network's first car.

The event will showcase electric vehicles from Mitsubishi, Toyota, IC Bus, Proterra, Tesla, Zero Motorcycles, Tomberlin and CT&T.

(taken from GoUpstate.com)