Highland Park is now home to the countrys first electric car charging station solely powered by wind energy.

The Carbon Day Automotive Charge Point station is located in the parking lot adjacent to 440 Central Ave. in Highland Park behind the building owned by the law firm of Emalfarb, Swan & Bain.

The law firm bought the charging station from distributor Carbon Day, a nonprofit organization aimed at raising public awareness about the need to lower carbon footprints through grassroots efforts, community programs, and federal and state legislation.

Users pay to use the station, which is located in a public parking lot.

Its like pulling up to a gas station, Carbon Day spokesperson Jane Kaplan said.

The Carbon Day station in Highland Park is the first derived by wind energy, but it is not the only one in the area that uses renewable energy.

A Carbon Day station in Chciago uses solar canopys to harness energy from the sun.

The wind energy is provided from an Illinois wind farm, Kaplan said. MC Squared Energy Services, an Illinois-based retail electricity supplier, privides the charging station with wind-powered renewable energy credits.

Emalfarb, Swan and Bain is a law firm that says it is committed to energy efficient laws.

Our law firm is dedicated to using innovative technology that will reduce our communities carbon footprint and guiding our clients to make a market transformation in their products and services that will create sustainable jobs, partner Hal Emalfarb said in a statement. By integrating renewable energy, in this case, the prairie winds of Illinois, to power our office and our cars, we have seamlessly accomplished the goal of a cleaner grid that leads to a reduction of green house gases.

For more information about Carbon Day, go to www.carbonday.com.

By Tara May Tesimu | Triblocal.com reporter