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US DOE Awards Plug In America $500,000 to Boost EV Adoption in Northeast

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Electric Car charging parking spot

Photo: byronv2

Ironically, one of the less-discussed barriers to widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles is that many haven’t been told the benefits of an electric vehicle—essentially, in some areas people don’t know much about EVs, so they don’t buy them.

To that end, the electric car advocacy group Plug In America has been awarded $500,000 from the US Department of Energy to invest in the promotion and adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in the Northeastern states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont. This will roll out in a collaborative project called “Advancing PEV Adoption in New England” (catchy!) with the help of state governments and Clean Cities coalitions within each state.

The focus is on accelerating all-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle deployment as a part of a multi-part effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, while also adding to  the Department of Energy’s EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, which is a lofty goal to make the US the first country, by 2022, to produce an array of plug-in electric cars that are competitive with the current gasoline-powered vehicles that we already drive.

Funds from the award will go to ride and drive events that allow people to directly feel what it is like to ride in or control an electric vehicle, as well as to training, resources, and recognition of local car dealerships that sell plug-in vehicles.