Future Taking Shape for EV Conversions in Otsego County,
Experts Say

By CASPAR EWIG
COOPERSTOWN

The Otsego County Conservation Association and Town of Middlefield Climate Smart Community Task Force presented a panel discussion, “The Future of Transportation in Otsego County,” on Thursday, March 30.

Amanda Kaier, Clean Energy Communities coordinator at the Mohawk Valley Economic Development District Inc., began the program with an overview of the electric personal vehicle market in Otsego County and New York State as a whole. Other panelists included Christina Ficicchia, manager of Smart Grid Programs at AVANGRID, the New York State Electric & Gas parent company based in Orange, Connecticut, and OCCA Junior Planner Will Kuss.

As of this year, 243 battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were registered in Otsego County, more than 83 percent of which were registered in the last two years. Since almost 40 percent of this increase represents BEVs, and since the overall BEV and PHEV registrations in the state exceeds 90,000 vehicles, the need for charging stations on designated EV corridors in the state and in the county is apparent, Kaier said.

As encouragement to consumers to purchase electrical vehicles of all sorts, Kaier pointed out that direct rebates ranging from $500.00-$2,000.00 are available, as well as federal tax credits up to $7,500.00 for individuals and up to $40,000.00 for businesses.

Panelists then reviewed the need for constructing private and public charging stations to accommodate this increase. Although there is presently no detailed analysis of existing charging stations in Otsego County, there is a definite need for direct current fast charging stations to accommodate BEVs that require a full charge to continue their trip, as well as Level 2 stations for slower charging. Again, the state has a number of incentive programs to encourage development of this aspect of the electric vehicle infrastructure.

The State of New York has mandated that all school districts purchase electric buses after 2027. Onondaga County has some on order, but as of this date no information on school districts in Otsego County was available.

OCCA Junior Planner Will Kuss observed that, “While electrifying long-distance hauling is still a challenge, local and last-mile delivery electrification is well underway.”

Kuss pointed out that the United States Postal Service already has 1,000 EV and PHEV in their fleet and plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and that FedEX aims to transform its entire parcel pickup and delivery fleet to all-electric by 2040. Amazon, which already has more than 1,000 custom Rivian electric delivery vans on the road, plans to increase that number to 100,000 by 2030.

In general, the panelists left the impression that, while there are many issues that still require resolution and development, the overall transition to electric vehicles was well underway and that assistance from federal and state sources is making the transition feasible.

For more information, visit https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Electric-School-Buses or https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2022-01/2022StateoftheStateBook.pdf.