As Jaffrey plans major renovations downtown as part of the construction of a new roundabout, installations of charging stations for electric vehicles are part of that vision, which would add to the state’s EV charging options.
Jaffrey Planning Director Jo Anne Carr said when the parking area at Blake Street is redone as part of the construction of a bridge over the Contoocook River to create a bypass for Route 202 traffic, charging stations are expected to be installed as part of the renovation, which is scheduled tentatively for 2025.
Carr said the town is also considering adding additional charging stations when it paves and reconfigures the parking at Community Field, which is also anticipated to be done during the roundabout construction.
“As a matter of policy, it’s part of the town’s mission to reduce the carbon footprint throughout town, and charging stations support that,” Carr said.
Carr added that if Jaffrey wants electric charging stations, it likely will have to forge ahead and put them in on its own initiative. The state has recently dedicated $17 million in federal funding to building more electric-vehicle charging stations, with plans to build 12 stations located every 50 miles along the major highways of Interstate 93 and Interstate 89, with Route 3 scheduled for the next round of funding.
“It’s not lost on this town that we’re not prioritized in larger statewide initiatives,” Carr said. “So, we can wait for the state to allocate funding toward us, or be more proactive.”
Carr said the town will look for state funding when the time comes, but has been setting aside funds in the Downtown Tax Increment Financing capital reserve, which captures funding for downtown area improvements, and will move forward with the charging stations with its own funds if need be.
Electric vehicles are only a small portion of New Hampshire’s vehicle market, but it is a growing sector. According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, about 4,000 vehicles registered in New Hampshire in 2021 were electric, with 3,500 being plug-in hybrid electrics, compared to 1.19 million gasoline-fueled vehicles.
In terms of charging stations, the state currently has only about 429 public electric vehicle charging ports. One of those public stations is located in Peterborough’s Riverwalk parking lot, located at 48 Grove St. Installed in April of 2022, the charging stations have seen an upward trend in use since their first installation.
The four stations provided 5,649 kWh of energy in 2022, according to data provided by Peterborough Public Works Business Manager Gretchen Rae.
Comparatively, as of mid-March this year, the stations have already provided a total of 1,784 kWh of energy, over 30 percent of the 2022 total.
Jaffrey’s largest employer, MilliporeSigma, has also invested in charging stations and provides incentives for their employees to purchase hybrid or electric vehicles, as part of a company-wide sustainability culture.
David Poggi, site head of operations for the Jaffrey MilliporeSigma, said the company currently has four charging stations that have become so popular, the company plans to add another 10 in the next year during a parking lot expansion project.
According to MilliporeSigma Head of Executive and External Communications Rachel Bloom-Baglin, in the past year, the Jaffrey stations have been used for a total of 4,700 charging hours, which represent 18,000 kWh of electricity, and eliminated the need for about 2,300 gallons of gasoline.
Poggi, who drives a hybrid, said the company encourages its employees to invest in electric vehicles by offering incentives of up to $3,500 for an electric or hybrid vehicle that has been certified a SmartWay vehicle by the Environmental Protection Agency, which is awarded to vehicles with better-than-average greenhouse gas and smog ratings.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.