NYC DOT Releases Plan to Create One of the Largest Municipal Electric Vehicle Charging Networks

Plan released at opening of first set of DC fast chargers at Delancey and Essex garage; goal for city-operated fast charging network is over 80 plugs by 2025

The New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Hank Gutman joined New York Power Authority (NYPA), EV Connect and elected officials to celebrate the installation of the first four of 28 electric vehicle (EV) Direct Current (DC) fast charging plugs at city owned municipal garages, and also to release a new ambitious vision plan to expand electric vehicle charging citywide. Today’s announcement, following the unveiling of the curbside Level 2 charging pilot in June is part of the city’s effort to grow and create one of the largest municipal EV charging network in the country. Transportation accounts for nearly 30% of the city’s overall emissions, and this plan is key to helping the City meet the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

“With the climate crisis upon us, it’s time to plan bigger about how New York City can dramatically accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman. “With major federal investments in EV charging on the horizon, our plan lays the groundwork for a network of tens of thousands of public EV chargers equitably distributed across the city, enabling many more car owners to go electric.”

“It’s time to end the age of the internal combustion engine,” said Ben Furnas, Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate and Sustainability. “Climate action means investing in pedestrian-friendly streets, interconnected protected bike lanes, reliable transit, and electrifying the vehicles on our roads. The Electrifying New York plan, including its ambitious vision for a new network of public EV chargers, will play a key role in reducing climate-changing greenhouse gases, lowering the risk of respiratory illnesses, reducing noise, and ending our reliance on fossil fuels. Thank you to the NYC Department of Transportation for their leadership and collaboration on this critical step.”

Electric Vehicle Vision Plan
To meet New York City’s climate goals, the city will need 400,000 vehicle owners to switch to EVs by 2030, and the charging infrastructure to make that possible. This plan will leverage government resources to spur private investment, with the goal of creating a network of 40,000 public L2 chargers citywide and 6,000 DC Fast Chargers by 2030.

Electrifying New York: An Electric Vehicle Vision Plan for New York City lays out eight initiatives to dramatically expand access to public charging across the five boroughs that can makes New York City a national leader in preparing for the EV transition. These initiatives include:

• Growing the city-operated fast charging network to over 80 plugs by 2025.
• Equipping 20% of all spaces in municipal public parking lots and garages with level 2 chargers by 2025, increasing to 40% by 2030.
• DOT will install a network of 1,000 curbside charge points across the five boroughs by 2025, increasing to 10,000 by 2030.
• Developing a plan for a Level 2 and Level 1 user-supplied cord charging system that integrates with existing street infrastructure.
• Advocating for funding and supportive policies from the federal government.
• Working with utilities and regulators to make it easier and cheaper to install EV chargers.
• Engaging with EV stakeholders to better understand evolving EV market, technology, and charging needs through an industry day.
• Increasing public awareness of EVs and charging opportunities through the PlugNYC marketing program.

NYC DOT also recognizes the leadership of the Biden Administration in leading the way on vehicle electrification and expanding EV charging. The agency sent a letter to US DOT Secretary Buttigieg that provides a list of recommendations on how to distribute anticipated federal funding for EV charging so that our network is not only the largest, but also the most equitable.

Municipal Garage DC Fast Charging: At the Delancey-Essex Municipal Garage, one of the city’s most popular municipal parking facilities with 357 parking spots and where EVs already account for 10% of its customers, NYC DOT installed four DC fast chargers including three 50kw units and one 150kw unit. DC fast chargers provide an 80% charge in 30-60 minutes depending on the vehicle. This encourages parking turnover within parking facilities, as EV owners can quickly charge up their vehicles while running errands or grabbing a bite to eat. Customers will pay 35 cents per kWh and can pay via the EV Connect mobile app or with their credit/debit card. Customers will receive credit for the cost of the first hour of parking through the transaction at the charger. Parking spaces will also be designated with “EV Charging Only” regulatory signage.  The station was built through a partnership with NYPA, which conducted the procurement and construction oversight. NYPA has the subject matter expertise and buying power from developing similar projects across the state including its EVolve NY public fast charging network and electric bus charging infrastructure for transit agencies such as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

As of this summer, there are 117 Fast Chargers across the city. Adding DC fast chargers to the city’s EV charging network supports the growing number of EVs in New York City and makes the adoption of EVs more accessible to New Yorkers. There are currently nearly 16,000 registered EVs and over 5,000 of which were purchased just in the last year (had this stat in last EV release, need to check update).

NYCDOT is close to completing its second fast charging station at the Court Square Municipal Garage in Queens, which is slated to be in service by the end of the month. Starting this fall, the agency plans to begin work on DC fast charging stations at five more Municipal Garages and Lots, with completion expected within the next year. DOT will also be evaluating system performance over the next five years.

“Bringing high-speed charging stations into municipal garages in New York City will help encourage even more drivers to switch to an electric vehicle,” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO. “NYPA is pleased to partner with New York City’s Department of Transportation to increase the availability of high-speed chargers in New York’s most populous city. This project is a shining example of the city and state working together to reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector.”

“EV Connect is proud to join New York’s ramp-up of clean energy transitions by building secure and innovative electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the state,” said David Hughes, VP and Co-Founder of EV Connect. “We couldn’t be happier about supporting New York’s trailblazing initiatives and real actions towards fighting the climate crisis.”

“Con Edison supports a transition to a future with clean transportation and clean renewable energy,” said Leonard Singh, senior vice president, Customer Energy Solutions for Con Edison. “That’s why in addition to providing incentives to make EV ownership more affordable, we’re making charging more convenient for New Yorkers. Our PowerReady program, the second largest of its kind in the country, supports the development of EV charging infrastructure with an investment of $310 million by 2025 to enable the deployment of more than 21,000 Level 2 EV charging plugs and 525 DC fast chargers. In addition, Con Edison has committed to supplying 100 percent clean power to its customers by 2040 making the environmental benefit to electric transportation even better.”

“Everyday we see the true impact of climate change on our state and country. New York City is launching the first set of DC fast chargers at The Delancey and Essex garage, right near my district. We can reduce carbon emission by increasing the amount of publicly available electric charging stations. As an electric vehicle user myself I’m thrilled to join NYC DOT for this great launch,” said Assembly Member Harvey Epstein.

“We are in the midst of a real climate emergency. Extreme weather patterns will become more frequent if we do not begin to drastically decrease our overall emissions. Expanding E.V charging stations will help incentivize New Yorkers to ditch their gas-powered vehicles for more sustainable electric-powered alternatives,” said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Chairman of the Transportation Committee. “There is still much work to be done to ensure that electric vehicles become more accessible to all working-class New Yorkers. I applaud the DOT for the work they are doing to ensure the City meets its carbon neutrality goal by 2050.”

“As Chair of the New York City Council’s Environmental Committee, I am proud to support this initiative, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution,” said Council Member James F. Gennaro. “By installing new curbside charging stations, we are sending an important message to New Yorkers – that making the switch to an electric vehicle has never been easier. I would like to thank Commissioner Gutman and the Department of Transportation (DOT) for all of their hard work to make New York City more environmentally-friendly.”

“Last week’s storm serves as a stark reminder that we need to transition our transportation systems to more sustainable modes as quickly as possible in order to continue our fight against climate change,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. “I am proud to have passed legislation as a Council Member that created DOT’s Electric Vehicle Advisory Committee to hammer out the details of how we transition as many vehicles as possible to electric vehicles. For those who must travel via car, it is critical that we do everything within our powers to ensure that it is an electric vehicle.”

“As we continue to grapple with the unprecedented impacts of fossil fuel-driven climate change, it has become more and more apparent how important it is that we drastically reduce emissions from the transportation sector,” said Renae Reynolds, Executive Director of Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “Creating a robust charging network is one of the critical steps to reducing harmful pollution from municipal fleet vehicles, and increasing public accessibility to EV charging stations. We are pleased to see NYC DOT’s leadership in advancing the collective vision for a clean transportation future.”

Featured Image cropped from NYC  DOT (pdf)plan

Article courtesy of NYC DOT