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Date: 3/2/2022
SOUTH HADLEY – In November 2021, the South Hadley Council on Aging installed the town’s first electric vehicle (EV) charging station with grant funds through the Massachusetts Electric Vehicle Incentive Program (EVIP).
The grant provided a little over $12,000 which covered the purchase and installation of the station.
According to Leslie Hennessey, director of the Council on Aging, the Building Committee planned for this during construction of the Council on Aging. The building had all wiring and the conduit leading to the spaces that could become future EV stations already installed.
“The building has just been built, it’s not even a year old yet. Before that in the planning stages the Building Committee really knew that there’d be some changes in the future and wanted this building to be able to handle those changes and be ready for those changes,” said Hennessey.
The station is a Level 2 charging station, which means that it takes between six to 12 hours to charge an electric vehicle fully. It is located at the rear of the building and is open and accessible to the public.
Hennessey said that though there is only one station currently, there is the availability to put in another dual access station in the future.
“We’ll see the utilization of this station and we have that capability to put in another station if need be in the future,” she said.
The South Hadley Electric Light Department was a big help to the project as well, according to Hennessey.
“I hadn’t had a lot of experience with this and I was very lucky to be able to speak with Mark Gilmore who is at the South Hadley Electric Light Department and he really guided me through the process and explained to me what the different types of EV stations were,” she said.
The department also granted the Council on Aging a five year rebate which covers costs for the cloud service program necessary for the new station.
“We were really lucky to have that assistance as well which made this a pretty fluid project for us with everything covered. So it was just a win-win for us,” said Hennessey.
The station has seen some use so far with a large spike around the holiday season.
“It was interesting to see that it spiked up in December. We’ve had some utilization off and on throughout January and February,” said Hennessey.
The Council on Aging also plans to utilize the station by purchasing their own electric vehicle through Gary Rome Hyundai. Hennessey said that they are in the process of buying a 2022 Hyundai IONIQ 5 to transport their seniors to and from appointments, shopping and more.
“We anticipate the new car will be in service for Council on Aging members to transport them by mid-March,” she said.
She emphasized the Council on Aging’s excitement over both the station and the new car and said that they are proud to be a part of this green movement.
“We’re just really excited for it to be, pretty much, in the center of the town and on the campus of the Senior Center. It’s just exciting to have that option now,” said Hennessey. “It’s really exciting to have that whole package and be part of the future and the whole idea that this is a green project, so to speak, and we can be really proud of that.”