Hudson Valley Town Installs First Of Many Electric Car Charging Stations

With several major car manufacturers making big commitments to electric automobiles, one Hudson Valley town is stepping up their game by installing their first charging station. Hudson Valley One reports the Town of Saugerties has installed the first of many near Kiwanis Ice Arena.

HV1 also mentions that there are reportedly close to 400 electric cars on the road in Ulster County. More charging stations will be installed over the next year, in part because of grant from the Department of Environmental Conservation which will not only cover 3/4 of the cost, but the necessary electricity for the first two years.

The funds come to New York as part of Volkswagen's settlement in which the company installed devices on their cars that would cheat emissions tests. 

Volkswagen has agreed to settle allegations that it violated the federal Clean Air Act by selling vehicles with "defeat devices" that allow vehicles to exceed air pollution limits. Approximately 500,000 model year 2009-2015 vehicles containing 2.0 liter and approximately 80,000 model year 2009-2016 containing 3.0 liter diesel engines were equipped with emissions control defeat devices. The affected vehicles exceed emission limits for nitrogen oxides (NO_x), a pollutant that harms public health and forms ozone or smog.

New York received more than $125 million and decided to allocate it to clean air projects.