The infrastructure in Greater Trail is getting all charged up.
The province has invested in the first electric vehicle charging station for Trail, approving funding for purchase and installation of a Level 2 (240-volt) charging station at FortisBC Inc.
As well, the City of Rossland will be installing four stations under the same program.
The exact cost and location of the station in Trail was not available.
In all there are 145 new stations being installed by 41 different organizations. Approval is for 75 per cent of the cost of purchasing and installing charging stations, up to $4,000 per station.
The funding is part of the $2.7-million Community Charging Infrastructure (CCI) Fund announced in April by Environment Minister Terry Lake.
Combined with the charging-station funding previously announced, this brings the total number of CCI Fund-supported charging stations in the province to 418.
The first municipal electric vehicle claim belongs to Montrose, however. The village has an electric truck that plugs into a normal 110-volt receptacle.
However, the village had to install an exhaust system for it because the charging system emits off-gases of sulphur dioxide.
The new charging stations are part of a planning grant process in which 12 local and regional governments were awarded funding to allow them to prioritize and plan for charging-station deployments in their respective jurisdictions.
Other stations will be distributed throughout the province in communities like Kamloops, Prince George, Houston, Fernie and Richmond. More than 60 per cent of the charging stations in this round are being installed by businesses.
The locations of up to an additional 152 charging stations will be made available later this month—bringing the total number of stations being installed under the CCI Fund to 570.
B.C. businesses, non-profit groups and local governments are investing in another 145 electric-vehicle charging stations throughout the province.
The purpose of the CCI fund is to support a network of charging stations province-wide. All stations must be installed by March 31, 2013.
The CEVforBC™program provides B.C. residents with up to $5,000 off the pre-tax sticker price for qualifying new battery electric, fuel-cell electric, plug-in hybrid electric and compressed natural gas vehicles until March 31, 2013.
The LiveSmart BC Residential Charging Point Rebate Program provides rebates of up to $500 per unit for residential electric charging stations that meet identified eligibility requirements until March 31, 2013.
For more information on the Clean Energy Vehicle Program, go to http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/cas/mitigation/cev.html. The LiveSmart BC Residential Charging Point Rebate Program can be found at LiveSmartBC.ca/incentives/transportation/CEV-rebates.html#residential.
