NEW YORK — Charge Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq: CRGE) recently announced that its portfolio company Charge Infrastructure, and the Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church signed an agreement for the strategy and development of EV charging stations and related services.
Charge will work as the preferred provider to evaluate the prospect of EV charging stations for the more than 600 churches in the BWC. The company will provide seamless EV charging infrastructure strategy, charging installation and engineering solutions as well as ongoing monitoring and maintenance services to any member church. Charge will also help area United Methodist churches execute their goal to better serve their communities and their members with forward-looking and sustainable technology.
According to Andrew Fox, chairman and CEO of Charge, churches are an ideal location for EV chargers.
“Historically, churches are a cornerstone of the community,” Fox said. “They tend to be centrally located, and they offer plenty of access. Sundays might be the most challenging time to charge at a church; however, the rest of the week likely offers plenty of opportunity. Importantly, churches are in every community, and this initiative could bring the first EV chargers to many underserved communities where a United Methodist church is located.”
Under the agreement, the member churches will earn revenue from the public-facing chargers. Charge and the BWC will explore arrangements that allow the chargers to be installed at no cost to the congregations. This agreement is being facilitated by Steeplecom, a known vendor within the BWC. Steeplecom has assisted congregations with similar agreements to install cell towers at local church facilities.
Leaders in the Baltimore-Washington Conference say they view this partnership with Charge as an opportunity to expand the church's ministry of being good stewards of the environment and offering equity so that people in underserved communities can have access to charging stations. The partnership was reviewed by the BWC Ministry Relationship Oversight Committee and the Discipleship Council to ensure that the assessments by Charge will serve to complement work initiated independently by a local church.
“The church is called to care for God’s creation,” said the Rev. Sheridan Allmond, chair of the Conference Trustees. “This unique partnership underscores our shared convictions that will enable local churches to assess the potential of installing on-site EV chargers.”
The Baltimore-Washington Conference is comprised of 603 United Methodist churches in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and the panhandle of West Virginia. The United Methodist Church is the largest mainstream Protestant denomination in the United States.
Charge Enterprises Inc. focuses on connecting people everywhere with communications and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Additional information on how churches can participate in this innovative environmental initiative will be released in the near future.
Originally published by the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference on Nov. 28, 2022. Republished, with permission, by ResourceUMC.org on Dec. 5, 2022.