SOUTH PORTLAND – South Portland on Monday became the first municipality to receive use of an electric car through a new grant program offered by Central Maine Power.

“It’s so quiet,” said City Manager Jim Gailey after taking a turn behind the wheel of the 2013 Nissan Leaf. “I didn’t even realize it was on.”

The CMP program, which offers up to $15,000 toward the lease of eligible vehicles and installation of charging stations, made its first award three weeks ago to the Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG), which in turn lent the car it leased to South Portland for the coming week.

City officials say the loaner is the first step in a long-term plan to convert all South Portland vehicles to alternative fuel sources.

Meanwhile, GPCOG plans to periodically lend its vehicle to other member communities during the next three years, said Jennifer Puser, the group’s transit and energy planner.

According to Puser, the Leaf gets about 80 miles to a charge, and can be juiced up for a full charge in as little as six hours using a Level 2 charging station, similar to the 240-volt plug used on electric dryers. Charging from a standard 120-volt outlet can take as long as 16 hours, according to Nissan’s spec sheet for the Leaf.

“You can’t really tell the difference when driving the car except that it’s so much quieter, because it’s all-electric. There’s no gas engine at all,” said Puser, noting that the version GPCOG leased has a solar panel on the roof to power its internal systems.

“We are going to try and achieve maximum miles and maximum exposure to show the community that renewable energy is the way to go,” said Mayor Tom Blake, noting that Councilor Michael Pock will pilot the car in the Nov. 11 Veterans Day Parade.

South Portland Assistant City Manager Jon Jennings said by week’s end he would file an application on behalf of the city to CMP’s Plug-In Electric Vehicle Grant Program. According to Gailey, if South Portland is successful in getting a grant of its own once it returns the GPCOG vehicle, it will lead a drive to transition all of the city’s non-emergency fleet to alternative energy.

Gailey said plans include installation of charging stations at various locations throughout the city, for use by the public.

“This goes a long way in furthering our sustainability principles,” said Gailey. “This [grant] will really help us make that leap into all-electric vehicles. We have 12-15 vehicles we think we can convert over. Those include cars driven by employees in the planning and code enforcement departments, as well as city hall.

“Then, if people see the city using these types of vehicles and the infrastructure to support them being built, they may be more liable to consider buying something,” said Gailey. “Right now, there are just not enough amenities out there for people to make the leap.”

According to Adam Cutter, who is managing the CMP grant program, recipients are required to collect data on the car’s use and performance for at least two years.

“We’re looking for organizations that share CMP’s strong commitment to the environment, will maximize road time for these vehicles, and will record this important data,” he said.

South Portland City Manager Jim Gailey checks out the front “fueling” plug Monday on the 2013 Nissan Leaf on loan to the city from the Greater Portland Council of Governments as he prepares to take a seat behind the wheel.