Electric Vehicles Take Hold in Hawaii
Hawaii now has more than 200 charging stations throughout the state and 1,136 registered EV’s, compared to 162 vehicles when the program began, according to DBEDT.
From a press release:
DBEDT partnered with the state Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs (DCCA) to manage the EV Ready Rebate Program, offering rebates up to $4,500 for eligible EVs purchased in Hawaii and up to $500 for the purchase and installation of EV charging equipment. Officially completed in May 2012, the program provided 453 rebates for electric vehicles and 274 rebates for public and private charging stations.
The EV Ready Grant Program awarded grants to six recipients – AeroVironment, Better Place, the County of Kauai, the City and County of Honolulu, GreenCar, and Plug In America. The EV Ready Grant Program was made possible by both private Hawaii business investment and $2.3 million from federal ARRA stimulus funds.
The EV Ready Grant program resulted in:
· Installation of over 230 Level 2 public EV charging sites and six DC fast chargers at more than 100 locations throughout Hawaii
· EV Ready Guidebook for Commercial Electric Vehicle Charging Station Installations, available free online at the Energy Office’s and Plug In America’s websites
· Residential building permits were made available online by the City and County of Honolulu to ease the installation of EV charging stations
· Car sharing company launched on Oahu, serving the hospitality industry with EVs and other fuel efficient vehicles
· Allocation of $475,500 to the state’s Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) Automotive Management Division to purchase a total of 10 EVs (Chevrolet Volts and Nissan LEAFs) and install over a dozen Level 2 charging stations at the state motor pool and state-owned public parking lots.
(Photo: Office of the Governor)
