The ability to recharge an EV at home is an advantage that no vehicle that runs on fossil fuels can match. Yet this advantage remains elusive for many, particularly apartment or condo dwellers. California recognizes this need and has announced a $56.5-million subsidy available to multi-family homes and nearby sites to install EV chargers for residents to use.
The Communities in Charge Project, with funding from the California Energy Commission Clean Transportation Program, wants to fill this as yet unanswered need with an emphasis toward disadvantaged and low-income communities. Up to $8,500 is available to site owners for every Level 2 charger they install, and up to $2,000 for Level 1 chargers. Tribal communities are eligible for additional incentives as well. The idea is to put chargers into less well-off communities that might not otherwise receive them. Although cars are more expensive than ever, EVs are shockingly cheap to lease these days, and used examples can be affordable to buy as well.
Filling an important gap
This program helps solve one of the biggest gaps in the entire EV infrastructure. Currently, unless you own your home, you will likely not be able to install your own charger. This leaves apartment and condo dwellers at the mercy of public chargers, which, while improving, are still not particularly reliable. With home prices at an all-time high, most of us will probably rent and keep our gas cars longer to avoid public charging hassles. Giving apartment renters or condo owners the ability to charge at home might be just the incentive residents need to swap their gas guzzlers for EVs.
Back in the day, the federal government used to plan and fund infrastructure projects. The Interstate Highway System is a great example of what we can accomplish with proper oversight and funding. However, EV infrastructure has been left mainly to private companies, which has resulted in a piecemeal approach. Electrify America was supposed to be the gold standard, except it’s not so good after all. Tesla has thrown a lot of money at Superchargers, just for itself at first, but now basically every car company can use them. With federal EV tax incentives going away, it looks like it’ll remain up to individual states and businesses to work out charging infrastructure amongst themselves.
