Clean Communities to develop Electric Vehicle Charging Plan for I-90 Corridor

Capital District Clean Communities (CDCC) is part of a team that plans to develop an electric vehicle charging plan for the I-90 Corridor.   CDCC is working with Energetics Incorporated, Genesee Region Clean Communities, Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board, Clean Communities of Central New York and Clean Communities of Western New York, as well as the five Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) along the Corridor. The objective of this project is to develop five regional EV Charging Station Implementation Plans that identify gaps where public infrastructure is not available to support EV drivers and suggest further infrastructure deployments in key locations to establish a comprehensive charging network.  Each plan will assess each region’s EV-readiness and make recommendations to establish a comprehensive network of both Level 2 EV charging and DC fast charging.  The plans will describe networks that support both intra-regional and inter-regional travel in Upstate New York.  Each plan will include the following elements:

• Define objectives (based on promoting EV travel both within and between regions).
  Identify key EV infrastructure deployment stakeholders in the region.
• Briefly present background information on EVs and chargers with references to the previously created documents assembled by the Northeast Electric Vehicle Network.
• Highlight any region-specific issues related to EV or infrastructure deployment that will need to be addressed (i.e. utility rates that discourage EV charging, zoning laws that restrict the placement of EV charging stations, or demographics that would not be supportive of successful deployments.
• Provide information on the current EV infrastructure landscape and EV use in the region to determine locations where Level 2 or higher charging infrastructure is not readily available within 5-20 miles.
• Develop recommendations that address the identified EV charging station network gaps and would make each region more EV-accessible.

After the plans are developed, they will be presented to the MPOs for approval.  The Clean Cities Coalitions will then move forward with implementation of the plans by meeting and speaking with officials and key EV stakeholders from key municipalities/jurisdictions within each of the MPO regions.  The Coalition Coordinators will discuss barriers limiting EV infrastructure installations, and talk about the need to prepare for and encourage new EV charging station installations.  Next, Coordinators will put a strategy into action to address these barriers.

CDCC has assembled a Working Group to assist with the development of this plan.  If you are interested in participating as a member of the Working Group please email jceponis@cdtcmpo.org.  You can view the the whole project overview document here.

This project is funded by NYSERDA.