SALEM — The city of Salem will host the study of curbside electric vehicle charging stations after being selected to participate in the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s (MassCEC) on-street charging solutions program.
The program, which includes 25 municipalities, is designed to assess the feasibility of on-street electric vehicle charging stations where off-street parking options are not available. Because part of the feasibility study is to determine most suitable spots, locations for installation haven’t been selected yet, officials said.
Access to charging is a significant barrier to electric vehicle adoption for renters and residents without private parking. However, to install on-street charging stations, municipalities face high upfront costs and complex technical issues, according to MassCEC.
Through the program, a MassCEC consultant team will provide feasibility studies that recommend specific on-street charging technologies and locations, identify key stakeholders, estimate project costs, and propose a project timeline, all at no expense to the city.
“We’ve heard often from residents who are interested in purchasing electric vehicles but ultimately opt not to solely because they can’t charge at home,” Mayor Dominick Pangallo said. “This initiative will give us a plan as to where and how we can remove some of these barriers to electric vehicle adoption and move us even closer to meeting our community’s sustainability goals.”
About 43% of the city’s local emissions come from vehicles, making it the largest single source. As a part of Salem and Beverly’s “Resilient Together” Climate Action & Resilience Plan, both municipalities are planning on creating new electric vehicle charging infrastructure, awareness campaigns, and requirements for new commercial and multi-family residential properties to include electric vehicle charging stations, all in an effort to ensure that 80% of cars on the road in Massachusetts are zero emissions vehicles by 2050, he said.
“The wider use of electric vehicles is a critical part of the Resilient Together climate action plan here in Salem,” Pangallo said, “so we’re incredibly excited to be selected to participate in this program.”
Michael McHugh can be contacted at mmchugh@northofboston.com or at 781-799-5202