With the passage of the 2021 Act on Climate, agencies in Rhode Island began to implement a plan to create a statewide electric vehicle charging station infrastructure and begin electrification of the state's transportation fleet. Developed by Rhode Island’s Office of Energy Resources, Department of Transportation and Department of Motor Vehicles, the plan calls for major investment to help spread the sustainable technology to the public and private sectors.
In August, Rhode Island completed a pilot electric bus program and received the first of 14 New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE NG 40-foot battery-electric buses, with the remainder of the authority’s order to be delivered in the upcoming months. Now, Rhode Island Commerce is looking to piggyback on that momentum as they talk with local businesses with fleets of vehicles to discuss fleet and transportation electrification.
According to Rhode Island Commerce Corp. Senior Project Manager Michael Walker, the fleet-electrification conversation is an opportunity for Rhode Island businesses to share their thoughts on the state’s plan to make electric transportation more accessible and review utility resources provided by the state to assist in the process.
On Sept. 13 at 1 p.m., Rhode Island Commerce will host a virtual listening session. Interested businesses can sign up for the session by filling out the form here.
According to the electrifying transportation report, as of Dec. 3, 2021, Rhode Island had 235 fully operational public charging stations with 512 unique charging ports and was ranked among the top 10 states in the nation for charging ports per capita. Rhode Island expects to receive $23 million over five years to support the expansion of an EV charging network under the provisions of the new Infrastructure Investment and Job Act (IIJA). Learn more about the upcoming listening session below:
What's the goal of the listening session?
The goal of the fleet-electrification listening session on Sept. 13 is to provide local businesses with information about vehicle availability, share national trend data and identify which utility resources can assist with their business needs — including equipment, cost, timing and availability. Additionally, the session will review the process of changing infrastructure and identifying incentives, both state and national, that currently exist and what is being discussed for the future. During this session, the total number of vehicles and buses will not be discussed.
Does the agency have any electric vehicles yet?
Not yet. This will not be a focus for this session.
Are there any other programs working alongside this one to electrify the state's transportation?
The 2021 Act on Climate called for changes to be made to adopt clean technology throughout the state. The listening session is intended to give local businesses the information and resources needed to make informed decisions and implement clean technology changes now and in the future. Other projects working alongside this effort include installing charging stations throughout the city, being led by RIDOT, and the school bus incentives program aimed to electrify the bus fleet.
What kind of feedback are you looking for from small businesses?
We're looking for any and all feedback that the businesses would like to share — you don’t know what you don’t know. Hearing the issues and concerns businesses have will help shape future programs in the state. Also, if something is working or there are success stories that can be shared with others that may be on the fence that will be helpful.
How could this help small businesses outside of the environmental benefits?
This could also potentially assist with a business’s bottom line. But, to do so you’d need information to do the math and some of the resources that will be shared can start to fill in data gaps. For example, this effort could potentially serve as a cost-savings for businesses that are looking for ways to work smarter in their budgets for the remainder of the year and in 2023-2024.
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A previous version of this story misidentified a state agency in the text and headline, and misidentified the spokesperson for the Rhode Island Commerce Corp.
