NYC Invests $75 Million for Electric Vehicles
Mayor Bill de Blasio, the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), and the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Sustainability announced a $75 million investment in electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging infrastructure to support the City of New York’s vehicle fleet. The new investments will help the greenest municipal vehicle fleet in the country become even greener.
The investments include:
- 300 electric vehicles to replace fossil fuel-powered models
- 275 fast vehicle chargers
- 20 portable vehicle chargers
- 11 new solar charging carports
- 3 electric buses to replace diesel models
- 78 electric ambulances
- In addition, the City will retrofit 125 existing diesel-powered trucks to be electric-powered.
These and other investments are part of the City’s plan to transition its entire vehicle fleet to electric vehicles.
“Climate change is an existential threat facing our city, our nation, and our world,” said de Blasio. “You can count on New York City to lead the way when it comes to finding sustainable climate solutions, fighting back against global warming, and building a greener future for the next generation.”
“The EV investment and infrastructure that we put in place will become the foundation of a clean and reliable transportation system for the next generation of New Yorkers,” said Ben Furnas, Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate and Sustainability. “[Wednesday’s] announcement is a key example of the City’s commitment to end the age of fossil fuels, improve air quality and public health — especially in Environmental Justice communities most impacted by polluting tailpipe emissions — and tackle the urgency of the climate crisis before us.”
In 2019, DCAS launched an initiative to install 100 fast electric vehicle chargers across the five boroughs. Fast electric vehicle chargers can charge vehicles up to seven times faster than traditional chargers. To date, 90 of these fast chargers are in operation, and all 100 will be operational by the end of the year. Currently, eight fast chargers are also available for public use. (Guidelines for NYC Fleet Chargers Public Access) In the next two years, DCAS will add an additional 275 fast chargers at City agency sites to support fleet units and also the electrification of school buses at the NYC Department of Education. At least 20 of these charging locations will also be available for public use. Once completed, the City of New York will have one of the largest fast-charging networks in the country.
The 20 portable chargers announced can be moved from location to location, supporting flexible and emergency charging as the City of New York transitions the fleet to electric vehicles. Working with the NYC Department of Correction, DCAS introduced the City’s first mobile charger in 2019. DCAS will also add 11 solar carports, which will give the City 100 free-standing solar carports, the largest such project in the world. These carports, which are mobile, power electric vehicles solely using sunlight, are not tied to the electric grid, and are an important emergency resource in the case of power outages.
The 300 new electric vehicles announced will replace at least 300 fossil fuel-powered light-duty vehicles and vans. In addition, for the first time, the City will retrofit 125 existing diesel support trucks to convert them to electric power. The first converts will be box vans, rack trucks, small dump trucks, and other non-emergency units. This will enable the City to make progress on electric truck implementation as manufacturers continue to develop new electric truck models.
DCAS and the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Sustainability attended the City’s 32nd Annual Fleet and Equipment Show, hosted by DCAS and NYC Parks Department at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Over 150 vendors displayed the latest in green and safe fleet technologies at the show. The non-profit Empire Clean Cities, which focuses on fleet sustainability, also hosts its annual stakeholder event at the show. Both events were part of the official Climate Week NYC programming. Immediately following the show, DCAS also participated in a virtual panel on Urban Charging Infrastructures at the 2021 Edition of IMPULSION MTL organized by Propulsion Québec. This international fleet forum is in its third year each supported annually by DCAS.
The City of New York’s municipal vehicle fleet includes 2,350 on-road electric vehicles and 796 off-road electric and solar units, and the entire fleet will become all-electric. To support this transition, the city currently has 1,061 electric vehicle charging ports to service its fleet. This network is the largest charging network in New York state and includes level-2 chargers, level-3 fast chargers, a mobile charger, and the nation’s largest network of 89 free-standing solar charging carports.
“I want to thank DCAS and NYC Fleet particularly Chief Fleet Officer Keith Kerman for being so welcoming to our Quebec delegation at the NYC Annual Equipment and Vehicle Show,” said Benoit Charrette, Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment, and Fight Against Climate Change (Quebec). “We are glad to be able to partner on best practices and initiatives to combat global climate change. It is certainly fortuitous that the NYC Fleet Show this year coincided with Climate Week NYC and I want to recognize and commend The Climate Group for their programming throughout the week. The expansion of vehicle electrification, charging infrastructure, and funding commitment to more sustainable forms of transportation announced by the City of New York shows their dedication to reducing the carbon footprint of fleets and we look forward to assisting them in meeting their goals of full-fleet electrification.”
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