U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer today announced he has secured $15 million in federal funding for New York State to help install new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at over 200 locations across the state.

The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program, which the senator created in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act. Schumer said the project will support the growing demand for electric vehicle use, lower air pollution, and reduce the overall environmental footprint of New York by ensuring residents and visitors throughout the state have easy access to charge EVs during their daily routines and at popular destinations.  

“New York just got a major jolt from the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law to power up brand new electric vehicle charging stations across the entire Empire State. Electric vehicles are booming in popularity, and for this industry to succeed we need to make charging your car as easy and convenient as filling up a gas tank, today’s investment will help us to do just that by bringing more charging stations to where people work and to popular tourist destinations across New York,” said Senator Schumer.

“When I led the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law to passage, it was investments like these — that help boost the state’s economy and improve air quality — that I had in mind. New York, under Governor Hochul’s leadership, is leading the way to build out our nation’s network of EV chargers, supercharging the fight against climate change and getting us on the road to a cleaner future.”

“Reducing transportation emissions and transitioning to electric vehicles is key to meeting our nation-leading climate goals,” Governor Hochul said. “New York State is accelerating access to strategically placed EV infrastructure as we continue to advance clean, healthy transportation options. This funding from the Biden Administration will ensure residents and visitors alike have the latest charging technologies available to suit the needs of all travelers and communities across the state.”

Schumer said the federal funding for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), will help support both Level 2 chargers which are suitable for charging over longer periods, and Direct Current Fast Chargers (DCFC) for quick charging. This federal funding will allow New York State to award grants to communities and projects across New York State on a competitive basis for projects that support Level 2 charging stations at more than 200 locations, including state parks, hotels, additional tourist destinations, state office buildings, and municipal parking lots throughout the state. 

In addition, competitive awards using this federal funding will also help be able to be used for Direct Current Fast Chargers (DCFC) chargers in up to six small- to medium-sized cities and workforce development initiatives to train New Yorkers to install and maintain charging stations.

Schumer has been a relentless champion for expanding electric vehicles, helping bring production back from overseas, and expanding charging infrastructure for all communities. In the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, that Schumer led to passage, he successfully secured $7.5 billion to build out a national network of EV chargers, including an estimated $175 million over the next 5 years in funding for EV charging stations for New York State. 

New York’s first federally funded rapid charging EV station was installed last month. Earlier this week, Schumer also announced $700,000+ for Oneida County to install new EV charging infrastructure, and $15 million for NYCDOT to build an EV charging depot in the Bronx, from the same grant program funding was awarded today.

Established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Senator Schumer led to passage, the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program (CFI program) $2.5 billion over five years to strategically deploy publicly accessible electric vehicle charging and alternative fueling infrastructure in the places people live and work, in both urban and rural areas, including downtown areas and local neighborhoods, particularly in underserved and disadvantaged communities.

Designed to accelerate the deployment of transformative projects that will help to ensure the reliability of the clean energy infrastructure, this charging infrastructure program will ensure all American communities have access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity anytime, anywhere.

You may have seen it and not recognized it for what it is.  Perhaps you thought it was an ordinary shed on a trailer being pulled by a red pick up truck.  In fact, it's part of a display from Homearama 2008 in Perinton that came through Batavia on its way home .

Look carefully and you'll see Dick Gammell reflected in the panes of glass in the door.  Dick is the owner of Canadice Construction Corp. in Springwater, and he's come up with a wind/solar generator that has limitless applications.  He developed the original unit to attach to a standard construction trailer to provide sufficient power to run hand tools and small pieces of equipment on site.  This somewhat portable, combination wind and solar generator replaces the gasoline and diesel varieties (up to 7,000 watts), resulting in the reduction of the use of at least 5 gallons of gas for every 8 hour work day -- per site.   One set of solar panels on half the roof (see photo) and one small wind turbine (stored in the shed for today's trip) does the trick.

In western New York, as in many geographic locations in the Northeast, we have an abundance of wind in the colder months and enough sunshine in the warmer months to power this kind of generator.  This unique "shed" provides all the portable power Dick needs to make his small construction company more cost effective, more independent, and more environmentally friendly.

But Dick didn't stop there!  He's applied his green thinking to golf greens.  This week-end, you can see his Green Cart at Dande Farms Country Club in Akron (see the ad in this week's Genesee Valley Pennysaver).  To test the most far-reaching application of his technology, he recently purchased a plug-in, electric vehicle and hopes to generate 10-14 kilowatts per day to power the car for 40-50 miles at once -- with no emissions!

Dick Gammell is an unassuming, straightforward businessman who saw a need and decided to do something about it.  He works every day at making his idea better.  The successful development of a highly  efficient wind/solar generator for use in generating up to 10-20 kilowatt hours per day of power for a family business may seem like a drop in the bucket, but imagine if we could engage MANY small businessmen in energy conservation and the use of alternative power sources!  It may be the only way to protect this nation's energy security.  I applaud Dick's efforts. 

You can read more at: http://www.canadiceconstruction.com/alternativeenergy.nxg