Dive Brief:
- A New York Power Authority (NYPA) contract for 300 electric vehicle charging stations will move the state towards its goals of having 3,000 stations online by 2018 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030.
- The five-year NYPA contract includes charging station equipment as well as optional installation and networking services, while making station services available to governmental customers at lower costs.
- Utilities all across the nation are rolling out thousands of charging station in their territories, from California to Kansas City. New York currently has about 1,600 stations, roughly halfway to its goal.
Dive Insight:
Continuing grid modernization efforts as part of the state's Reforming the Energy Vision strategy, New York's NYPA contract supports about 10% of the state's EV station goal.
"By increasing the number of public electric vehicle charging stations in our state, we are signaling to New Yorkers that we are serious about transitioning to a cleaner energy future and meeting our emissions reductions goals," New York Chairman of Energy and Finance Richard Kauffman said in a statement.
The state's ChargeNY program aims to have 3,000 charging stations online in New York by 2018. Under the program so far, more than 1,100 charging stations have been installed, including those by municipalities and businesses.
But ownership of the stations is a major issue, not just in New York. In California, which wants to get 1.5 million electric vehicles on the road by 2025, the state has been working with utilities to approve plans allowing the largest investor-owned utilities to own the stations. Kansas City Power & Light has developed about 700 charging stations in an area rapidly adopting electric vehicles, but regulators rejected its bid to ratebase 1,000 of those stations.
Falling battery prices are a large push in EV adoption. Before 2010, the federal government estimated estimated there were less than 60,000 electric vehicles on the roads. Now, GTM Research is forecasting EV adoption could increase to 12 million vehicles by 2025.