It has been one year since the university introduced eight level two electric vehicle charging stations on campus. These stations are free to use and are available to anyone with an electric powered vehicle (EV). The stations are in the Beckerman Recreation Center parking lot and in the Celentano Hall parking lot.
These stations were provided by New Haven’s Office of Energy and Sustainability, which is a part of the facilities department. The office coordinates campus-wide efforts to reduce the university’s carbon footprint, engages students in discussions and programs designed to protect the environment and develops ways to integrate issues about sustainability into classes and co-curricular learning opportunities.
New Haven is not new to adding sustainability programs at the university and to lowering the school’s carbon footprint. A composting program was launched in 2019 in student dining halls. The school also works in collaboration with Haven’s Harvest to donate unused food, added recycling programs to increase recycling efforts and placed sustainable LED lighting throughout the school, as well as water bottle fillers to encourage reusable water bottles.
Director of the Office of Energy and Sustainability Laura Miller said in an article, “EVs are not simply in our future – they’re here now. I hope to continue to expand our educational and sustainability initiatives at the university.”
A year later, the state’s government is working to transition to electric-powered vehicles and slowly phase out gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. In November, Gov. Ned Lamont withdrew the proposed regulations for the transition after facing pushback from a bipartisan legislative committee.
If regulations are eventually passed, the state will be in line with the latest California emission standards. California’s Advanced Clean Cars II regulations, adopted in 2022, impose stricter low-emission and zero-emission standards for model years 2026-2035, according to the California Air Resources Board.
The ability of the state to build adequate charging infrastructure for the electric vehicles and the cost of EVs are the main concerns from members of the state legislature.
“These are legitimate concerns that folks have, so I want to have a conversation about those things, how we are addressing or not addressing them,” said Sen. Gary Winfield, D-Conn. in a meeting with Lamont. “I think that this is a really important conversation. And I think ultimately, we probably do need to get where he’s trying to go.”
A potential bill has been in the works in hopes to get its own special session, but House Speaker Matt Ritter said the bill will serve as framework and will be proposed in the General Assembly’s regular session, which will open on Feb. 7.
“I think there’s been really good negotiations, but you have to get to a final bill and there are still some sticking points,” Ritter said in an interview with CT Mirror.
According to CT Mirror, the bill covers the creation of a commission to monitor the state’s readiness for electric vehicles, increased funding for a network of chargers in urban areas and another vote by the General Assembly in 2027 on whether the state would remain committed to the 2035 goal.
The issue will be discussed in a regular session which will entail a public hearing and a review by a committee.
Lamont’s spokesperson Julia Bergman said, “Gov. Lamont is committed to cleaner air and confident from his conversations with Democratic leadership that the legislature will stand by their commitment to put Connecticut on the path towards a zero-carbon future.”