Plug in

State to Get Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org News staff

Rhode Island plans to install at least 30 public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations next year.

The state Office of Energy Resources (OER) is directing the project to expand EV use across the state. Building EV charging stations, the OER says, will create jobs, reduce pollution and “accelerate Rhode Island’s transition to electrified transportation.”  The charging stations are also part of a larger push to reduce petroleum consumption.

Currently, Rhode Island has six charging stations. Eighty percent of the planned charging stations are required to be in public locations. At least three must be on state property.

The notice of public bidding (pdf) for the project was announced soon after the state added EVs to its list of vehicles that can be bought by state agencies and municipalities.

Contractors have until Jan. 15 to submit proposals. The new stations must be built by Aug. 15.

"This is a fantastic development for the state," said Scott Miller, vice president of ChargePoint, an electric vehicle charging station developer that plans to bid on the Rhode Island project.  “Installing a public EV infrastructure has proven to lead to more EV sales in a particular area. Most EV drivers will charge at home, but they feel much more comfortable knowing there is a public charging infrastructure available to them.”

Funding from the federal American Resources and Recovery Act will pay for charging station equipment, wiring and construction costs. Charging equipment alone typically costs about $6,500.

The 240-volt Level II charging stations are the standard most commonly used across the country. Between four and seven hours are required to fully charge an EV, depending on battery cpacity and the existing charge. Planners of the project expect vehicles to be partially charged, thus requiring one to three hours of plug-in time at the new stations." The charging stations work for both fully electric vehicles and plug-in gas-electric vehicles.

The effort to build EV infrastructure has been a priority of a collaboration between Project Get Ready, Ocean State Clean Cities, National Grid, the state Division of Planning and OER. Through its "Top 50" initiative, the group advocates that new charging stations be built outside restaurants, shopping malls, parking garages, gyms, beaches and other locations where vehicles are often parked for several hours.

Rhode Island’s existing charging stations are at Cardi’s Furniture in Warwick, the Wickford Junction Commuter Rail station, the T.F. Green Airport Interlink, Schneider Electric in West Kingstown, and at Nissan and Chevy dealerships.

Although U.S. sales of EVs have been sluggish since mass production began in 2010, they have picked up in recent months. New models from Ford, Tesla and Toyota have boosted sales, along with discounts on existing models from Nissan. Sales are still far short of a federal push for a million sold by 2015.

"This is a smart investment that will encourage more people to buy plug-in cars, and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutants and our dependence on imported oil, while saving drivers money at the pump," said Al Dahlberg, director of Project Get Ready in Rhode Island.