On March 6, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an ambitious $4.8 million electric vehicle (EV) campaign in support of the ChargeNY initiative which began in 2013. The new campaign aims to install 450 EV charging stations across New York State and put more EVs on the road through incentives, public education and outreach. Funding is provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
“This multi-pronged campaign will help in this administration’s efforts to fight climate change, strengthen infrastructure to support the use of electric cars, and help reduce New York’s carbon footprint on our roadways,” Governor Cuomo said. “With these actions, we are taking another step toward a cleaner, greener and more sustainable New York for all.”
ChargeNY aims to have installed 3,000 EV charging stations in New York State by 2018 in order to support an estimated 30,000-40,000 plug-in EVs which will be on the road. Over 1,600 stations have been installed to date. The long-term goal is to slash statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 40% come 2030 (compared to 1990 levels). Given that the transportation sector in New York State is the largest contributor of its greenhouse gas emissions (almost 40%), the continued uptake of EVs and installation of appropriate charging infrastructure plays a vital role in realising this objective.
Work on the new projects will start immediately. Of the 450 new EV charging stations, approximately 150 will be located at workplaces throughout Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Utica, Albany, the Hudson Valley, Westchester County, New York City and Long Island. This supports Governor Cuomo’s “State of the State” proposal which involves the construction of 500 new workplace charging stations.
EV Connect, a leading provider of EV charging solutions, announced that it has been awarded $1.4 million of the allocated $4.8 million. It will install approximately 100 Dual Level 2 stations (~200 ports total) at 50 locations throughout New York State. EV Connect will manage the charging ecosystem, which includes the charging stations, host locations, electric utility interaction and the driver experience.
EV Connect use hardware and software built upon an open standards-based architecture. They will also be involved in marketing and outreach programs. Further, they will provide innovative financing to site owners in order to increase the appeal of installing EV charging stations.
CALSTART, a national clean transportation organisation, has been awarded $1.7 million to implement the “Charge to Work” program. The statewide, three year endeavour is set to begin in spring of 2017. It will involve a marketing and outreach campaign targeting over 100 public and private businesses throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Long Island and Westchester.
Employers will be educated on the benefits of providing workplace EV charging stations for their staff and will be eligible to receive rebates for installing Level 2 EV charging ports. Employees will receive financial incentives to swap from gasoline powered vehicles to EVs and will also receive discounts for charging them at work. Overall, CALSTART’s goal is to install 132 Level 2 EV charging ports and facilitate the uptake of 450 new EVs.
Energetics will receive $1.7 million to implement their “Animate the EV Market in New York State” project. This will involve helping facilitate the installation of five EV charging stations in each of five pre-selected regions along the I-90 Corridor and conducting community outreach events including “ride and drives” in order to promote EVs. Further, Energetics will be involved in encouraging EV-based tourism in the Hudson Valley and Catskills regions of lower New York State through installing EV charging stations at popular locations and also by developing tourism packages.
Energetics will also assist the City of Rochester, and one additional community, in becoming an EV model city. This pilot program aims to demonstrate how developing and nurturing an EV ecosystem can increase EV adoption and support its long-term growth. This will involve installing more public EV charging points, supporting the use of EVs in fleets, and conducting extensive community outreach.
In more good news for New York State residents, by no later than April 2017, NYSERDA is scheduled to have developed its program to provide rebates of up to $2,000 towards the purchase or lease of a new EV, plug-in hybrid EV or fuel cell EV. The $7,500 federal tax rebate can also be applied for a total of up to $9,500 off the price of an eligible EV. Also, Governor Cuomo has announced the availability of another $3 million to help eligible municipalities and rural electricity cooperatives purchase EVs to use in their fleets.
Source/s: Governor of New York, ChargeNY, EV Connect, CALSTART, Energetics.