The Ministry of Environment announced yesterday that a second round of installations has been approved for 145 new electric-vehicle charging stations, in addition to those already approved.
A total of 570 charging stations are expected to be installed under the program by March 31, 2013.
In April, the B.C. government announced $2.7 million in funding to encourage businesses and organizations to install level-two EV chargers, which can charge an electric vehicle in about four hours.
The provincial funding covers 75% of the cost of buying and installing charging stations, up to $4,000. More than 60% of the applications recently approved are being installed by businesses, according to the Ministry of Environment.
As Business in Vancouver reported last month, about 270 B.C. drivers have accessed a $5,000 rebate offered on the purchase of new electric vehicles. That's less than local auto dealers had hoped.
As of last month, only $1.4 million of the $7.5 million allocated to the CEV for BC program had been spent.
In a presentation to the Downtown Vancouver Association, Malcolm Shield, climate program manager for the City of Vancouver, said car manufacturers restricted where a limited number of electric vehicles go based in part on the expected demand and the charging infrastructure that's in place.
