The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) announced that grant funds will be provide to Atlantic City, Ventnor, and Longport for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
The EV Tourism program provides funding for chargers at tourist locations across the state. This program provides a $2,000 incentive and up to $5,000 for make ready costs for Level Two Chargers, and up to $75,000 for Direct Current Fast Chargers. Make ready cost includes pre-wiring, service panels, etc. necessary to make a location able to accommodate an EV charger.
Atlantic City received grant funds for four Fast Chargers and two Level Two Chargers. Ventnor received grant funds for a Fast Charger and a Level Two Charger.
The Clean Fleet program supports local and state governments as they transition their fleets to electric vehicles. This program provides up to $4,000 towards the purchase of electric vehicles, $2,000 incentive and up to $5,000 for make ready costs for Level Two Chargers, and up to $75,000 for Direct Current Fast Chargers.
Atlantic City received grant funds towards five vehicles, one Fast Charger, and three Level Two Chargers. Ventnor received funds towards two vehicles and one Fast Charger. Longport received funds towards one vehicle and one Level Two Charger.
In Atlantic City chargers will be installed at City Hall and Gardner’s Basin Park. The Ventnor chargers will be located at City Hall and the Community Center. Longport’s charger will be installed at the Municipal Building.
Established in the EV Law, the State will provide at least $30 million in annual incentives for the Charge Up New Jersey program for a period of ten years. In FY23, the Board has budgeted $35 million for the Charge Up Program, $5.5 million for the residential charger program, $10 million for Clean Fleet, $4 million of which is dedicated to local government, $6 million for EV Tourism, and $4 million for housing developments. The FY23 Appropriations Act includes additional funds for charging infrastructure and electric vehicles to meet the Electric Vehicle Act’s mandate of a 100 percent State fleet by 2035.
“There is no doubt that the tide has turned, and electric vehicles are now a legitimate alternative, equal to their internal combustion competitors in price, if not superior in performance,” Governor Phil Murphy stated.
“We want to make sure that even tourists can drive their electric vehicles to enjoy their New Jersey vacations, for this we have put another $6 million forward for tourist destinations across our state to install EV charging stations,” Governor Murphy said.
New Jersey officials are seeking to have at least 330,000 light-duty, plug-in electric vehicles registered in the state by the end of 2025, and more than 2 million by the end of 2035. As of December 2021, there were fewer than 65,000, state records show.
Established in the EV Law, the state will provide at least $30 million in annual incentives for the Charge Up New Jersey program for a period of ten years. For fiscal year 2023, the state has budgeted $35 million for the Charge Up Program; $5.5 million for the residential charger program; $10 million for Clean Fleet, $4 million of which is dedicated to local government; $6 million for EV Tourism. Funding charging infrastructure and electric vehicles will help the state meet its mandate of a 100% state green fleet by 2035.
Offering incentives to install residential charging station infrastructure and encouraging motorists to purchase electric vehicles is part of Governor Murphy’s Charge Up program, which will help the state reach 100% clean energy by 2050. According to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, transportation accounts for 40% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The Charge Up program offers consumers a $4,000 incentive to purchase an electric vehicle listed under $45,000, and $2,000 for EVs costing $45,000-$50,000. The first two years of the program provided New Jersey consumers with incentives to purchase 13,000 EVs.
The new Residential Charger Program offers a $250 rebate on the cost of a home charger. Multi-unit dwellings five units or more are also eligible to receive incentives, and the EV Tourism program provides funding for chargers in tourist locations.
“My long-term goal, by 2050, is to have a 100% clean energy economy, meaning that it is not just the vehicles on the road but when you plug that in at night the power behind that wall socket is clean. That is the ultimate goal is to get to 100% clean by the middle of the century,” Governor Murphy said.
