New York City Mayor Eric Adams Talks About Sustainable ChargingNYC receives $10.1 million in grant funding to expand fleet electrification and charging infrastructure.
Mayor Eric Adams speaking at press conference in front of EV ARC™ systems.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams kicked off the New Year 2023 by announcing that the City of New York received $10.1 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Congestion, Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, also known as CMAQ to support the transition of 925 fossil fuel powered fleet vehicles to electric models and expand their charging infrastructure network. Appearing in front of 4 Beam EV ARC™ sustainable EV charging systems, Mayor Adams highlighted the importance of transitioning to EVs for a cleaner and safer environment.
“We are experiencing the benefits, cleaner air, fewer greenhouse emissions, and cost savings in fuels, so there’s a real win-win here. Not only are we ensuring that we are cleaning our economy and having a greener future, but we’re saving the green dollars that New Yorkers deserve us to do and do it in an efficient way,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels will expand, and renewable energy assets will push us in the right direction.”
Big Test, Big Success
It all started in 2015, when NYC leaders ordered their first EV ARC™ solar-powered EV charging system. They wanted one full year of data to analyze to see if this solution suited their needs given it was 100% off-grid and solar-powered. After a full year of data was analyzed, two more units were purchased. Then two more. And in 2017, the City placed an order for 32 EV ARC™ systems, their first bulk order. By 2018, another 50 EV ARC™ systems were ordered to charge city fleet vehicles such as police cars, parking enforcement vehicles and other city fleet EV and plug-in hybrids. This brought the City’s fleet of EV ARC™ systems to 87 back in 2019, all of which are the original design.
“New York City continues to lead in sustainable and resilient EV charging infrastructure for their growing fleet of zero-emissions vehicles. Their EV ARC systems are rapidly deployed without digging up city streets and parking areas, without expensive upgrades to city electrical circuitry, and without concern for high utility costs, saving on City budgets,” said Beam Global CEO Desmond Wheatley. “Resiliency is very important to New York City and the EV ARC™ system’s ability to provide EV charging during grid outages and emergency power when needed by first responders is another great benefit for the city and their taxpayers.”
Each of the City’s EV ARC™ system generates and stores its own electricity, and is equipped with a Beam factory installed EV charger from ChargePoint to power City fleet EVs. EV ARC™ systems are transportable, off-grid and require no construction, permitting or electrical work, providing City fleet vehicles with access to clean, resilient EV charging. With the increase in climate change threats as well as threats to traditional infrastructure from terrorism or nefarious state actors, Beam Global products are well-suited for municipalities and other entities that increasingly rely upon electric vehicles.
New Design Addresses Climate Change Threats
With the new EV ARC™ 2020 design that was released in March 2020, which touted flood protection up to 9.5 ft, the city ordered 2 more of the new systems in early 2021 to see how they fared. This was a notable new capability given the broadening recognition and reality that climate change was causing storms to be more severe and more frequent. In late August 2021 New York City was hit by hurricane Ida causing an estimated $9 billion in damages.
In October 2022, the city ordered 71 more of the EV ARC systems, the very systems Mayor Adams was standing in front of for this announcement. To date, the City has ordered 160 EV ARC™ systems, making them Beam’s largest municipal customer.
New York City continues to electrify its fleet. The City hit a massive milestone as the city announced it has already met its 2025 goal of 4,000 electric vehicles in its fleet. As of September 2022, NYC had replaced around 4,050 gas-powered models with electric vehicles and has the largest electric vehicle charging network in New York State. Greenhouse gas emissions have dropped 19 percent from 2005 levels and the City has its cleanest air in the last 50 years. Brought into law through the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act), the State of New York is on a path to achieve its mandated goal of a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and to reach economy wide carbon neutrality by 2050. The state remains focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050.
Resiliency In Action
Sky’s the limit to what an EV ARC can power: cars, Covid-19 testing sites, emergency preparedness field testing, and most recently, the PA system at this City of New York’s press conference. During a sound check before the press conference, there was a problem with the power running to the PA system. The City was quick to jump in and use the Emergency Power Panel from one of their EV ARC™ systems on site to supply the necessary power to keep the press conference on schedule.
The Emergency Power Panel is an add-on to the EV ARC™ that can provide emergency power to first responders and City personnel in the case of a power outages. Resiliency is all about being able to bounce back quickly from challenges. We applaud NYC for their success in building out a resilient, renewably powered EV charging network.
Cleaner Future, Faster
In this first week of the new year 2023, Mayor Adams talked about the major strides the City is taking to create a safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly fleet. With the new CMAQ funding, they plan to purchase 925 new electric vehicles such as sanitation trucks, pick-ups, and vans and 315 EV chargers. “We’re moving closer to reimagining a city that runs on electric powered vehicles that will protect the quality of life of millions of New Yorkers,” said Dawn Pinnock, DCAS commissioner.
New York City has proven time and time again that the EV ARC™ is a valuable asset to their fleet. NYC will continue to be a leader in fleet electrification and emergency preparedness with their largest network of off-grid solar-powered EV charging with emergency preparedness capabilities.
This innovative city embodies our mission to Lead the World to Clean Mobility, and we are happy to support NYC in their transition to an all-electric future and look forward to seeing more New Yorkers Drive on Sunshine™.
Authored by Sandra Peterson, VP of Sales and Marketing at Beam Global