From 2015 to 2025, we hosted eleven annual EV ride-and-drive events that expanded to include solar and energy solutions. We found that after 11 years of hosting the Expo, EVs had moved from niche to mainstream. We work to continue what we felt were the most valuable parts of the Expo - one-on-one conversations between neighbors - in the new format of our monthly Energy Cafes. We welcome you to join us for our smaller-scale Ride & Drive event on Oct. 8, 3:30-6:30pm.

 

Our first event took place in Longley Square, home to the first public EV charger in western Maine (since upgraded to two networked plugs). In 2015, EVs were quite rare, and most people didn’t know where to go to buy one or test drive one. Paris Auto Barn served the community for many years as our local used EV dealer, bringing increasingly affordable EVs to the region. With our expanding network of public chargers across western Maine, our rural communities began to be a hotspot for EVs. Our later Expos featured dozens of EVs, privately-owned and those for sale at more conventional dealerships. The majority of attendees were familiar with EVs, knew where to go to buy one, and many were considering their second EV.

 

As the western Maine chapter of Drive Electric Maine, our EV Ambassadors program serves the EV-curious who want a local's perspective before going shopping. Sign up to be an EV Ambassador here, or if you're EV-curious and would like to be paired with an Ambassador driving something similar to what you're considering, reach out to driveelectric(at)ecologybasedeconomy(dot)org.

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Check out the videos below on EVs, solar, and e-bikes from past Expos!