New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced the largest open-access electric vehicle fast charging hub in the Southern Tier region is now open. The New York Power Authority developed the 16-charger site at Hancock Town Hall in Delaware County in partnership with Tesla along Route 17, a primary east-west travel corridor between the Hudson Valley and Western New York. It is also adjacent to a town-run dog park where EV drivers can walk their dogs while they charge.
The EVolveNY hub is part of New York State's effort to eliminate "fast charging deserts" and encourage the development of public charging infrastructure that is available to all New Yorkers and visitors.
The new high-speed charging site includes eight universal charging ports installed by NYPA as part of its EVolve NY network and eight Supercharger ports by Tesla for its EVs. The large and well-lit site outside Hancock Town Hall can accommodate new EV pickup trucks and has plenty of parking and turnaround space. The stations are conveniently accessible for EV travel along Interstate 86 and Route 17.
The fast chargers also border the new Hancock Hounds Dog Park and the site also will soon feature a community garden. Travelers can rest, enjoy a meal, or walk their dogs, all while charging their EV. Vending machines also will be added to the site.
The Town of Hancock partnered with NYPA to build the chargers through the EVolve NY program, coordinating its efforts with Hancock Partners, Inc., a non-profit organization that advances economic development opportunities in the region. The site chosen for the chargers once hosted oil tanks owned by John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Co. Today the site is a sign of a new era of environment-focused, emission-free infrastructure that supports an end-to-end clean energy economy.
NYPA maintains the largest open-access high-speed charging network in New York State with 118 ports at 31 sites along major travel corridors, helping ensure that EV drivers in New York don't have to worry about running out of charge.
The new EVolve NY Direct Current Fast Chargers can charge most of the battery capacity in any make or model of EV in as little as 20 minutes. The charging stations, on the Electrify America network, are equipped with fast charging connectors — combined charging system (CCS) plugs rated at 150 kW and two CHAdeMO connectors rated at up to 100kW —so all electric vehicles, including Tesla cars with an adapter, can plug in.
New York State has seen record increases in the number of EVs sold, bringing the total number of EVs on the road to more than 127,000 and the number of charging stations in the state to almost 9,000, including Level 2 and fast chargers. Increasing EV sales will help the state reach its aggressive clean energy goals as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The goal is to reach 850,000 zero-emission vehicles in New York by 2025. New York State hosts 1,156 public fast chargers at 258 locations, according to the U.S. Dept. of Energy Alternative Fuels Data Center, although they range in speed from 25kW to 350kW which equates to varying charging times.
EV owners can locate public chargers using smartphone apps such as Shell Recharge, Electrify America, PlugShare, ChargeHub, ChargeWay, EV Connect, ChargePoint, EVGo, Google Maps, or the U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center. For a map showing EVolve NY chargers, click here. Note that the EVolve chargers operate on the Electrify America and Shell Recharge networks. Credit cards are accepted to charge; no subscription or membership needed. See all EV sites on a map here.
