A new readiness plan aims to help the state of North Carolina prepare for hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles on the road in the next decade. The state’s first Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEV) readiness plan was created through the 'NC PEV Readiness Initiative: Plugging-in from Mountains to Sea (M2S).'
There are several plans, looking at PEV use in key regions of the state including the Asheville area and the Triangle, which has the most Electric Vehicles. The plans focus a lot on education. Marcy Bauer is the Clean Transportation Extension Specialist at N.C. State. She says they can’t do anything about the hefty price tags associated with plug-ins, but they can help make life easier for this growing niche market of clean energy drivers.
“Letting them be more able to charge at work at their regular stops for recreation and for commerce really goes a long way to helping them feel more comfortable that they’re not going to experience any inconvenience being stuck without a charge," Bauer says.
Bauer says latest numbers show there are 700 plug-in electric vehicles registered in North Carolina and 350 public charging stations. There are 170 private charging stations in the state.
One main part of the plan looks at PEV incentives. The NC Solar Center produced a paper titled 'Plug-in Electric Vehicle Incentives and Policy Options for North Carolina.' Depending on the vehicle, some PEV owners are eligible for a federal tax credit of up to $7,500.
