Lamppost electric vehicle charging solution with low infrastructure requirements.
Transportation is responsible for 36% of New York State's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (NYSERDA factsheet, 2019). EV adoption is an important strategy to reduce emissions and achieve New York's decarbonization targets. Although city drivers want to purchase EVs, the primary adoption barrier is limited access to public charging (Wu, Alberts, Hooper, & Walton, 2019). Residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods in urban settings especially lack access to a garage where they can install a charger. Increased public charging access will drive further EV adoption. (Keith, Long, Gaiarin, & Chernicoff, 2021).
Voltpost retrofits lampposts into smart Level 2 charging stations managed by a mobile application, facilitating faster and less expensive installation while eliminating the need for new street furniture. In this project, Voltpost will deploy 290 lamppost charging stations across Westchester, Queens, Kings, and Bronx Counties. Success will be measured by: charging utilization, GHG emission reduction, community satisfaction, and charging station uptime.
Voltpost transforms lampposts into Level 2 charging stations, facilitating EV charging at curbside parking spaces and in parking lots. Our solution democratizes access to charging with the aim of improving environmental and health outcomes in an equitable manner. Current EV charging infrastructure does not serve drivers living in multi-unit housing where they cannot install their own chargers or have dedicated parking at home, or who cannot charge their vehicles at work (Keith et al., 2021). Voltpost's solution allows drivers to charge overnight at designated parking spaces, making EV ownership accessible to disadvantaged communities, increasing clean mobility, and reducing GHG emissions.
Starting with disadvantaged communities in Westchester County, Voltpost aims to bring the benefits of EV ownership, including lower costs, better reliability, and zero emissions to drivers who haven't previously been able to access EV charging. In addition to these tangible benefits, EV ownership comes with a sense of pride in doing the right thing for your community and the world, empowering individuals who may feel that they have limited personal choices.
In 2022, Voltpost aims to have deployed 10 units in Westchester County and begun installations in one other New York communities. In 2023 and 2024, Voltpost will begin installations in target counties, deploying 50 more charging stations in 2023, 100 more in Q1 2024, and 140 additional stations in Q4 2024. By 2025, a total of 300 chargers and 600 ports will be installed in New York State in this project.