Five Stewart’s Shops to Get Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
One of several convenience/gas stations to start building them under state program.
Teslas and other EVs will be able to charge up at some Stewart’s Shops in the Capital Region and Northway.
ALBANY : Construction has started this week on the first of what will be five new high-speed electric vehicle charging stations at Stewart’s Shops in the Capital Region and Adirondacks.
The installation is being managed by the New York Power Authority, with the first of the five scheduled for completion in September at Stewart’s Schodack location at 1811 Columbia Turnpike.
The site will have three 150kW Direct Current Fast Charger stations and one 350kW charger, which is capable of charging a compatible vehicle at speeds up to 20 miles per minute.
At 35 cents per kilowatt hour, most charging sessions shouldn’t be more than $30, NYPA predicts.
Two of the charging stations will be equipped with both fast charging connectors allowing different brands of electric vehicles, including Teslas, to plug in. The Teslas will need adapters though.
All five of the Stewart’s sites should be completed by the end of 2021.
Moreau, Clifton Park, Latham and Keene, an additional four charging stations, are planned for 2022.
The chargers are part of the state’s EVolveNY electric vehicle fast charging network designed to promote the sale and use of emission-free electric vehicles. Getting more of these vehicles on the road is a key part of the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goals to greatly reduce greenhouse gases in the coming years.
One of the goals is to have a carbon-free transportation sector and an 85 percent greenhouse gas reduction by 2050.
The five fast-charging stations will offer a total of 20 chargers. The fast chargers can be used by any make or model of electric vehicle and can fully charge an EV in as little as 20 minutes.
“The 20 EVolve NY Chargers will grow our fast charging network to more than 80 units. Stewart’s Shops is known for a quick in and out and these fast chargers will provide the convenience our customers know and expect,” said Stewart’s President Gary Dake.
NYPA will construct, own and operate the hubs in coordination with Stewart’s site hosts. The Schodack Stewart’s will be the tenth installation in NYPA’s EVolve NY network.
One of the parking spaces there also meets Americans with Disabilities Act standards for accessibility.
“NYPA’s EVolve NY network is expanding across New York State making it easier and more convenient for drivers to power their vehicles with clean energy sources,” said NYPA President and CEO Gil C. Quiniones.
Stewart’s Shops has 345 locations across upstate and neighboring states. Stewart’s already has three Tesla charging stations throughout the state, with plans to expand the program with four more by the end of 2021.
Stewart’s had a much bigger EV-charger project in mind in 2015, when the company partnered with the owners of the Mechanicville hydroelectric plant to create a network of hydro-powered chargers.
The plan was to use private funding through Albany Engineering Corporation to place 100 chargers at Stewart’s Shops from Albany to Plattsburgh by 2020. But the Public Service Commission rejected the project based on the way transformers at the plant were set up.
Once this EVolve NY buildout is complete, New Yorkers will be able to drive any EV from New York City to Montauk, from Albany to Montreal, and from Binghamton to Buffalo with fast chargers capable of recharging their vehicles in 15-30 minutes located every 50 miles or less.
NYPA is also working with Mirabito shops in the Binghamton-Syracuse corridor, including a recently announced site in Oneonta.
Other EVolve NY sites opened since last fall include sites in LaGrangeville, Watertown, Malone, Schroon Lake and Fairport. Additionally, the Northeast’s largest public charging hub is at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
EV owners can locate public chargers using smartphone apps such as Greenlots, PlugShare, ChargeHub, ChargeWay, Google Maps, or the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center.
Source: timesunion
