ALBANY, NY - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his 2013 State of the State address on Jan. 9, outlining an agenda for the State. One of his goals is to make New York the leader in the Clean Tech economy, and he hopes to do so by investing $50 million in an extensive electric vehicle charging network and using the State fleet to demonstrate the benefits of plug-in electric (PEV) technologies.

Cuomo’s policy is to provide support for PEV ownership, expected to grow from less than 3,000 vehicles today to 30,000-40,000 in 2018 and one million in 2025. To support this expected growth of electric vehicles, he proposes increasing the number of charging stations from the current 800 to 3,000. His initiative calls for $50 million to be spent over five years, including funding from the New York Power Authority, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYERDA), and tax credits to create a statewide network of 3,000 public and workplace charging stations.

In addition, the State plans to demonstrate the benefits of PEV technologies in the State fleet by using fleet vehicles to test and demonstrate advanced PEV technologies to the public. Cuomo also stated that fleets, both commercial and government, could benefit from technologies such as battery swapping, “whereby vehicles can be ‘refueled’ by replacing the battery, rather than charging it,” which would reduce charging time. He also suggested that installing “fast-charging” stations in strategic locations would be useful for State vehicles that travel consistent long-distance routes.

In order to facilitate EV charging infrastructure development, the State plans to reform regulations at the State and local level to facilitate EV charging, including providing utility time-of-use rates, creating utility rebates for PEVs and/or charging equipment, and clarifying ownership of public charging stations and billing mechanisms available to them.

The full State of the State plan can be found here.