Governor of New York Awards $3 Million to Three Projects to Integrate Electric Vehicles Into Electric Grid

Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul announced $3 million has been awarded to three projects to advance technologies to help integrate electric vehicles efficiently into the electric grid.

The $3 million has been awarded to three projects through the Vehicle Grid Integration Program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), which provides funding for projects that are scalable and advance electric vehicle charging infrastructure through product development, technology demonstrations, or new business models. Technologies include bi-directional charging, energy storage, on-site energy generation, and EV managed charging.

The awarded projects include:

• Charging Platform Lamppost Conduit Interconnection: Voltpost was awarded $775,000 to develop lamppost EV charging in the New York City area, Capital Region, and Hudson Valley focusing on UL certification, retrofits, and plans to deploy at least ten additional Level 2 charging stations in New York State.
• Demonstrating Statewide Implementations of Flexible Interconnections for Fleets: The Mobility House was awarded $867,000 to show how utility distribution capacity can be maximized with flexible interconnections to support electric school bus charging at a depot in Staten Island and a second location yet to be determined in New York State to pilot a method for fast charger deployment that decouples charger construction from electric grid development timelines.
• Distribution-Optimized EV Managed Charging to Enhance Grid Flexibility: Weave Grid was awarded nearly $1 million to control when EV managed charging will occur in the Orange and Rockland Utilities service area by using software and topology data to coordinate schedules and balance the energy load.

The Governor also announced $4 million in new funding for a competitive solicitation offered through NYSERDA’s Electric Vehicle Managed Charging program.

Proposals were sought from researchers, developers and consultants, who individually or as a team, will develop or demonstrate technologies solving the data collection, data transmission and operational challenges faced by utilities when integrating electric vehicles, regardless of supplier, with the electric grid. Proposals are expected to include behind-the-meter EV integrated solutions including the transfer of bi-directional data and utility control over charging, or both to study how these solutions can alleviate demand on the electric grid.

The focus of this solicitation was identified by NYSERDA working with Avangrid, parent company of Rochester Gas & Electric (RG&E) and New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG), to provide data that will help inform future utility rate and program planning for EV managed charging.

New York State is also investing nearly $3 billion in electrifying its transportation sector and advancing measures that all new passenger cars and trucks sold, are zero emissions, along with all school buses being zero emissions the same year. There are a range of initiatives to grow access to EVs and improve clean transit for all New Yorkers including the Drive Clean Rebate, EV Make Ready, EVolve NY, the New York Truck Voucher Incentive Program (NYTVIP), the New York School Bus Incentive Program, and the Direct Current Fast Charger Program.

The solutions will help enhance grid flexibility, shift charging to accommodate energy demand, and lower charging costs for consumers. Funding for the initiative is through the Clean Energy Fund (CEF).