PORTLAND — A growing number of electric car chargers and solar panels are just some changes the cities of Portland and South Portland have accomplished since they first put the One Climate Future Plan into place five years ago.

Troy Moon, Portland’s sustainability director, said part of the plan’s goals include switching to clean electric power wherever possible. The city has been working on installing banks of electric vehicle charging stations strategically placed throughout the city.  

The hope, Moon said, is to have a bank of chargers in every major neighborhood of the city.

“We want to encourage people to drive electric, to electrify transportation, so the only way we’re going to do that is to provide more people with opportunities to charge their vehicles,” he said. 

Right now, Moon said there are 44 chargers on public property in Portland and six in South Portland. Users can pay for electricity with a credit card or use an app.

The city has also built four new solar arrays at the Ocean Avenue landfill, on the roof of the parking deck at Portland International Jetport, at Riverside Golf Course and the city’s homeless services center on Riverside Street. 

Those panels, Moon said, along with contracts to acquire electricity for municipal use from 21 other contractors throughout the state, have saved the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in electric bills.

“Those have been super-helpful for us,” he said. 

Other improvements include new building codes that Moon said will make new buildings in the city more energy-efficient and more resistant to flood damage.

According to a statement, both cities have implemented more than 70% of the suggested changes in the plan, using 32 grants totaling more than $5 million to fund the work. 

Moon said he hopes in the future to see the city reduce its carbon footprint even further and generate more public awareness for the plan.