Route 7 is now an EV Corridor as officially designated by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). These alternative fuel corridor (electric is only one of them) designations are intended to raise awareness among current EV owners and the public at large of the access to nearby charging. This is part of a strategy to promote interstate cooperation and a national build out of charging corridors. All corridor designations have to be re-certified every 5 years. This designation currently applies to the section of Route 7 from the I-95 interchange to New Milford.

Along with the designation, the ceremony held at Fodor Farm in Norwalk also acknowledged the donation of a level 2 charging station by JuiceBar, a Connecticut manufacturer (based in Norwalk) of EVSE.

The presenters were (left to right):

Tammy Thornton, Wilton Go Green

Barry Kresch, President, EV Club of CT

Senator Bob Duff (Majority Leader)

Carlo Leone, CT Department of Transportation

Mayor Rilling of Norwalk

Daphne Dixon, President of Live Green CT

First Selectman Dunn of Brookfield

First Selectman Marpe of Westport

Senator Will Haskell (Transportation Committee co-Chair)

Paul Young of JuiceBar

EV Purchase Incentives, EVSE (charging equipment) Subsidies, Free Charging

This past Tuesday, July 27th, the EV Club presented a webinar jointly sponsored with Sustainne, LLC, Sustainable Westport, and the Town of Westport on how to save money when buying and charging an EV.

The speakers were Analiese Paik, CEO of Sustainne, Paul Vosper, CEO of JuiceBar, and Barry Kresch, President of the EV Club. These were the areas we covered:

• Latest changes to CT CHEAPR program of EV purchase incentives
• Update: There is a recent change to the CHEAPR program not reflected in the webinar. EV buyers can now receive 2 rebates beginning with June 2021, meaning if you had previously received a rebate, you can receive 2 more. They must be spaced at least 24 months apart.
• Federal purchase incentive
• Newly release EV Rate Design from the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) that directs the utilities to offer a range of subsidies for residential, Multiple Dwelling Units, commercial, fleets, and municipalities. These include subsidies for the purchase and installation of level 2 or level 3 chargers and discounts on electric rates.
• Many automakers offer some level of free charging with the purchase or lease of a new EV. They vary a lot and are either miles or time-limited. There are also numerous options for free level 2 public charging.

A written summary of the PURA program is here.

Link to the blog post with the latest CHEAPR rebates is here.

We have been receiving positive feedback. The webinar was recorded and is now available on our YouTube channel.