ChargePoint expanding electric car charging station presence in New York City

A new phase of constructing electric car charging infrastructure is getting underway in New York City, under financial support from NYSERDA.

New York City's electric car charging station infrastructure is beefing up with the first of 80 new stations being installed by ChargePoint. The new electric car charging station, being installed at The Solaire in Battery Park, is the first part of a significant NYSERDA EV charging station investment. The Solaire is the nation’s first LEED Gold-certified residential building.

This project is part of a larger effort announced by Governor Cuomo a year ago. That effort includes $4.4 million being awarded to 10 EV companies, municipalities and other entities, including ChargePoint, to bring 325 charging stations to New York. Another program, Charge New York, announced by Cuomo earlier this year involves investing $50 million over five years to support electric vehicle adoption through investment in 3,000 public and workplace charging stations by 2018, plus other steps meant to encourage the growth of electric vehicle ownership.

“Upgrading the city’s EV infrastructure to new, universal ChargePoint chargers is imperative to the future success of a sustainable society. By working with ChargePoint and NYSERDA to bring new chargers to our LEED-certified rental properties in Manhattan, The Solaire, The Verdesian and The Vanguard Chelsea, the Albanese Organization hopes to inspire more drivers to consider electric vehicles, while providing current adopters with new access to convenient charging locations,” said Russell Albanese, Chairman of the Albanese Organization. “The partnership of ChargePoint and NYSERDA has been an excellent example of the public and private sectors working together to make a great contribution.”

“Through Governor Cuomo’s ‘Charge NY’ program, the state is taking a proactive approach to investing in an EV infrastructure that will encourage New Yorkers to transition from less efficient vehicles to electric vehicles,” said Francis J. Murray Jr., President and CEO, NYSERDA. “Given the amount of emissions produced by the transportation sector, this statewide EV infrastructure will allow the state to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.”

ChargePoint is the leading provider of EV charging in New York City with nearly 200 EV charging stations already installed. The company works with private garage owners or other commercial host sites to place charging stations throughout New York and the rest of the country. For electric car owners, the ChargePoint service offers a growing network of charging stations, available at a relatively fair cost, enabling EV drivers to drive a longer distance than within a circle fixed around their home.

Dense urban centers like New York City are challenging for electric car adoption. Where the owner of a single family home can easily install a charging station, a resident in an apartment building has to negotiate with landlords or home owners associations. It isn't always possible for an apartment dweller to negotiate their way to having an EV charging station at their residence. This especially complicates electric car adoption urban areas, because a large percentage of residents live in multi-family-dwellings (apartments).

In February, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg called for 10,000 EV charging stations, and amending the building code to make it easier to get electric car charging stations installed in apartment buildings.

“New York is laying the foundation to become a leader in the United States for EVs,” said Pat Romano, president and CEO of ChargePoint. “The majority of residents in New York City live in apartments and without this kind of public infrastructure investment, residents would not be able to buy electric vehicles.”