Ontario Spends $20M For Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

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Ontario's Liberal government will hand out $20 million in grants next year to help create a network of public charging stations for electric vehicles.

The province wants public and private sector partners to build fast-charging electric vehicle stations in cities, along highways and at workplaces, apartments, and condominiums, said Premier Kathleen Wynne.

"This program is part of Ontario's new, $325-million green investment fund," Wynne announced at the climate change talks in Paris. "We know that for electric vehicles to take off in Ontario there has to be the infrastructure in place."

Full details of the program will be available later this month.

Wynne said Ontarians want to take part in the fight to reduce the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

The new program is for the next generation of chargers, known as level 3, which cost up to $40,000 and can power a car back up to 80 or 90 per cent of its capacity in under a half hour, said Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca.

"One of the challenges is that people have what we call 'range anxiety,"' he said. "They're not in a position to feel comfortable that they can drive certain distances and know that they'll have an easy and affordable way of refueling."

Shifting to low- or zero-emission vehicles is vital to reaching Ontario's "ambitious" greenhouse gas reduction goal of 80 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050, added Wynne.

"It's why we have rebates and incentives for people who purchase EVs, and why we're making it easier to cruise around in an electric vehicle with today's announcement," she said.

Ontario provides rebates of up to $9,500 for people who buy electric vehicles, and also offers rebates for installing EV charging stations at home. 

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