The City of Richmond is encouraging local businesses to apply for the electric vehicle charging station incentive program.
As the city moves closer to setting up 10 of its own charging stations to power electric vehicles, its hoped Richmond businesses will jump aboard to spread the network even further.
A $4,000 incentive is being offered by the province through the BC Community Charging Infrastructure Fund.
However, funding is only available for 75 businesses, and applications must be submitted by Nov. 30 to be considered.
In the meantime, Metro Vancouver and its member municipalities are holding free information sessions across the region to support businesses in accessing the incentives and introduce the technical support available to make installation simple.
Businesses that take the initiative to host an electric vehicle charging station can increase their business profile and show community leadership, said Mayor Malcolm Brodie.
Encouraging electric vehicle use is one way we can reduce the use of fossil fuels a non-renewable source of energy and major contributor to climate change.
To educate local businesses about the program, workshops will be held:
- Nov. 14, 9 to 11 a.m. at the Metro Vancouver Head Office, 10th Floor Meeting Room, 5945 Kathleen Ave., Burnaby
- Nov. 15, 9 to 11 a.m. at the District of North Vancouver Municipal Hall Council Chambers, 355 West Queens Rd., North Vancouver
- Nov. 16, 9 to 11 a.m., at the Chuck Bailey Community Centre, 13458 - 107A Ave., Surrey
- Nov. 19, 9 to 11 a.m. at City Council Chambers and Foyer, 3000 Guildford Way, Coquitlam
The sessions are one hour long and experts are available afterwards to answer questions. No registration is required.
For more information on eligibility, costs and how to apply for the incentive, visit www.metrovancouver.org/EVstation or contact Metro Vancouver at [email protected] or call 604-688-9769, ext 135.
As part of the program, the City of Richmond had received funding to install 10 electric vehicle charging stations at five locations around the community.
Once in place, these electric vehicle charging stations will become part of the network of charging stations around Metro Vancouver.
The city has added about 30 hybrid vehicles to its municipal fleet and all five of its ice re-surfacing vehicles (Zambonis, for example) are electric.
