NICE, FRANCE – APRIL 11, 2015: A woman is programming the Auto Bleue charging station to electrically charge a Renault Zoe electric car in Nice, France.
In June, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) cut the ribbon on its first curbside Level 2 Electric Vehicle (EV) charger in the Bronx, as part of a pilot program to install charging stations for public use. Located at Putnam Place and East Gunhill Road in the Norwood neighborhood, the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) is the first in what will be 50 publicly available charging stations on NYC curbs across all five boroughs. Each station is equipped with two ports, allowing two EVs to charge at once.
Funded by a grant from the New York State Public Service Commission, the project was rolled out in collaboration with Con Edison and features FLO EV network charging equipment for the physical stations. In addition to the 100 publicly available ports, there will be an additional 20 reserved exclusively for NYC Fleet charging to help support the City’s goal to transition to an all-electric fleet by 2040.
The project provides a model for EV charging in a densely urban landscape, differing from existing charging options in public and private parking lots and garages. With a curbside model, EV drivers can pull up directly to an on-street parking space and plug in to the standing EVSE unit, similar to a parking meter. Charging will cost $2.50 per hour during the day and $1.00 per hour overnight.
One current obstacle to EV adoption is the availability of public and affordable EV charging, especially in an urban environment where many residents live in multi-family unit dwellings and are unable to install personal EVSE in a home garage. There are approximately 15,000 registered EVs in NYC – only a small percentage of the total 1.9 million registered vehicles in the city. To support the transition to EVs over gas-burning cars charging infrastructure must be addressed.
In NYC there are nearly 600 Level 2 charging ports, 20 direct current fast charging (DCFC) ports, 800 Level 2 Tesla charging ports, and 90 Tesla Supercharger ports available to residents. The continued growth of an EV charging station network in NYC, starting in communities vulnerable to air pollution, will help ensure cleaner air for all New Yorkers.
Source: ACT News
