Canton electric vehicle charging stations operational; first hybrid police cruiser in use
CANTON : With the second phase of the village’s two-part electric vehicle charging project completed this summer, municipal charging stations are now operational in downtown Canton, and the village police department has rolled out its first hybrid cruiser.
A Level 2 Charger and a Direct Current Fast Charger were installed by Apex Solar Power, Glens Falls, in the municipal parking lot off Hodskin Street.
The project grew out of village board discussions last year about an increasing need for public EV charging stations and is largely funded by a $35,000 rebate from National Grid and an $8,000 grant from the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority. The village covered about $164 in remaining costs, as well as labor and minor paving expenses.
Both chargers are free to use through at least next year, said Village Trustee Klaus D. Proemm, who has spearheaded the project and serves on the transportation subgroup of Canton’s Sustainability Committee.
“These EV chargers will benefit village and town residents and visitors to Canton, and hopefully encourage further use of alternatives to fossil fuel,” Mr. Proemm said.
EV chargers are categorized into three main groups: Level 1, Level 2 and Direct Current Fast Chargers.
An EV charger is considered Level 1 if it can be plugged into a standard wall outlet. Most households or families needing to charge personal EVs will use a Level 1 charger, which supplies 120 volts of electricity. A full charge can take up to a day depending on the vehicle, but many vehicles can be sufficiently charged overnight.
The DC Fast Charger is designed to charge EVs quickly and is currently the fastest type of charging station on the market. In general, Fast Chargers enable 40 miles of driving for every 10 minutes of charging, and a full charge can be provided in less than an hour.
In between the two extremes, the Level 2 charger supplies 240 volts of electricity and typically takes a few hours to fully charge an EV.
SUNY Canton, SUNY Potsdam, Clarkson University and St. Lawrence University each have a two-port Level 2 charging station, but Canton’s Level 2 charger is one of the few municipal stations in the county, along with Massena’s Level 2 station in the Andrews Street municipal parking lot.
Canton’s Fast Charger is now the second Fast Charger between Watertown and Plattsburgh, with the only other Fast Charger in Northern New York off Route 81 at the North Country Welcome Center, 26 miles northwest of Watertown in Alexandria Bay.
To the east, three Fast Chargers are located in Burlington, Vt., just across the state line off Lake Champlain, but between Alexandria Bay and Burlington, the vast north country is void of public Fast Chargers, according to ChargePoint mapping data.
EV charging stations are mapped online and on free mobile phone apps, including ChargePoint, PlugShare and ChargeHub.
“With the local efforts on sustainability and the larger ongoing discussion about our ‘carbon footprint,’ the village has looked for ways to improve in these areas,” Mayor Michael E. Dalton said. “It is prudent both fiscally and environmentally to find ways to save fuel expense and make good environmental choices. We are committed to that.”
The Canton Police Department earlier this year purchased its first hybrid vehicle, which was delivered in August. The vehicle has “already reduced gas consumption by about half,” police Chief James R. Santimaw said.
Source : nny360
