Electric Albany
Paul Slazas drove to the Albany presser in his brand new Chevy Volt...(it's the red one in the video below --- which also shows Mayor Jennings driving up in a white Volt --- Albany County Legislator Brain Scavo, who is active on the Mass Transit Committee and has been in the car business for 25 years, hams it up for the camera --- Mr. Slazas also appears in the vid. please excuse the bad sound as the wind was blowing quite fiercely) Slazas lives in Stockport, Columbia County, and told me that he discovered the press conference while online googling EV charging stations in the vicinity of Albany.
[Hover and click on the image to enlarge]
This reporter today enjoyed an interesting field assignment and got a firsthand look at EV technology. [LINK]
It's all for the greater good: Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings today announcing a partnership with NYSERDA and the New York State Department of Transportation to prepare the Capital city infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Bob VanAmburgh at City Hall explained the study is expected to take two to three months, and results will be made public in mid-to-late summer.
The effort includes a feasibility study and pilot program, which will include installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure throughout the City. In addition to the government agencies, DeNooyer Chevrolet, National Grid, the University of Albany, and VHB Engineering, Surveying and Landscape Architecture, P.C. have all agreed to partner with the City.
“This program is an exciting and important step forward for the City,” said Mayor Jennings. “Albany’s position as a major juncture between Boston and Buffalo, New York and Montreal, makes it an ideal hub for electric vehicle recharging infrastructure as we plan for regional adoption of electric vehicles. This is yet another program that my Office of Energy & Sustainability is implementing with the goal of creating a more livable and sustainable Albany.”
Earlier this year, the Mayor's Office of Energy and Sustainability released the city's greenhouse gas inventory and priority initiatives for 2011 which includes a goal to replace at least 10% of the municipal fleet with alternative fuel vehicles by 2030...
NYSDOT Commissioner Joan McDonald said, “At Governor Andrew Cuomo’s direction, the State Department of Transportation is working to develop environmentally-friendly transportation options and reduce transportation’s carbon footprint by decreasing greenhouse gases from vehicles. We’re pleased to work with Mayor Jennings on the City of Albany’s electric vehicle pilot program, which will help expand our knowledge of energy efficient alternatives to traditionally-fueled vehicles.”
“I congratulate Mayor Jennings, the City of Albany and the partners in this important step in the transition to electric vehicles,” said Joe Martens, Commissioner of DEC. “Under Mayor Jennings’s leadership, Albany was an early adopter of the state’s Climate Smart Community pledge and continues to embrace programs that will make our community more livable, while saving residents money and moving us closer to the clean-energy economy. I applaud the mayor’s investment of local resources to promote the city's sustainability, and his leveraging of additional state and private resources to bring those concepts to fruition.”
This is the fifth joint research-and-development solicitation between NYSERDA and NYSDOT. The program this year focuses on transportation energy efficiency, transportation demand management and low carbon transportation fuels. The transportation sector accounted for 77 percent of petroleum consumption and nearly 40 percent of GHG production in New York State in 2009, leading both categories that year and increasing since. That can be improved by lowering fuel use and emissions, which is the focus of these new contracts.
Tags: Albany EV, Chevy Volt, Jerry Jennings
