May 25, 2016
At the end of its budget session in March, the State legislature passed a bill approving $2,000 cash rebates to individuals who purchase plug-in electric vehicles (EVs). Also approved were $5,000 cash rebates to municipalities which purchase electric vehicles. Both of these rebates are in addition to the federal $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit. The Chapter and Kat Benedetti-Fisher, the Sierra Club‘s NY Electric Vehicle Initiative organizer, worked with allies, members and the public in favor of these point of purchase rebates to customers.
Actual cash rebates are an important incentive to increase electric vehicle sales, as has been shown in other states. With New York’s current energy mix, electric vehicles are about 70% lower in emissions than a similarly sized conventional car. As renewable energy from solar, wind and hydro ramp up in New York State, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) will be reduced even further.
In 2013, Governor Cuomo joined 8 other states in signing a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) agreement that coordinates action to place 3.3 million ZEVs on the road by 2025. While the rebate program will help further our electric vehicle goals, the State has also recently announced a $9 million fund to build approximately 800 new EV charging stations.
Your Sierra Club has also been involved in promoting plug-in Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs). The Club’s Electric Vehicle Initiative recently showcased a 240 mile range ZEB in Albany to government officials.
More than 20 Sierra Club members and the members of four partner organizations tabled at the NYC auto show where they collected some 600 signatures in favor of the rebates and in support of EV infrastructure development. As one small token, out of his efforts behind the scenesto ensure this rebate made it into the budget, Chapter Conservation Director, Roger Downs, delivered the petitions to the Governor.
The auto show volunteers also signed up more than 60 new supporters to test drive electric vehicles in a dealership near them to help collect data as part of a national effort to protect New York’s Zero Emission Vehicle status. If you would like to become involved in test-driving electric vehicles at a local dealership, or in petitioning the Public Service Commission to establish pro-electric vehicle policies, please contact Kat Fisher at kat.fisher@sierraclub.org or by phone at (585) 205-3308. For more information on the Sierra Club’s EV Program you may go to www.sierraclub.org/evguide.
PDFs of our Legislative Support memos can be found here: Support memo for the budget language (A.9008-B Part X/S.6408-B Part EE)
Bob Ciesielski
Chapter Energy Committee Chair
Kat Benedetti-Fisher
NY Electric Vehicle Initiative Representative
Consultant