Aug 6, 2024
Aquarium of Niagara, through National Grid’s Electric Vehicle Make-Ready Program, is celebrating the installation of six Level 2 EV charging plugs to be used by visitors, friends of the Aquarium, and area residents.
For the Aquarium’s project, National Grid’s program provided EV incentives that covered infrastructure-related construction costs – including labor and materials – to build the interconnection to the electricity network. Beyond the newly installed plugs, this project investment also provided the Aquarium with funding to increase the existing electricity infrastructure to accommodate future EV charging as driver demand increases and additional plugs are needed.
Altogether, National Grid’s program incentives represented 60% of total project costs, totaling $40,000. The project, located in the main Aquarium parking lot at 701 Whirlpool St. in Niagara Falls, also received funding from NYSERDA’s Charge Ready 2.0 program, which provides Level 2 charging station hardware rebates and included utility incentives to significantly lower the overall cost of the project.
Aquarium of Niagara President & CEO Chad Fifer said that the EV chargers are a welcome addition and are conveniently located with public access for residents, people who may be hiking the nearby trails, or the more than 20 million tourists who visit the Niagara Region annually, and who may be staying at nearby hotels.
“As a conservation organization, the Aquarium is committed to personal actions that support a healthier planet,” said Fifer. “These new EV charging stations not only provide a valuable visitor and community amenity to anyone looking to reduce their carbon footprint by using an electric vehicle, they also generate important revenue in support of our mission. We are grateful to National Grid for their generosity and expertise in bringing this project to fruition.”
“We’re delighted to see this project come to life after years in the making and many conversations supporting this long-anticipated guest amenity,” said Whitney Skeans, National Grid’s EV Make-Ready Program Manager, who added that the charging stations can be found by EV drivers on popular plug-finding apps. “It represents the Aquarium’s thoughtful approach to ensure economic viability, driver convenience, and community value for years to come.”
National Grid’s Upstate New York EV Make-Ready Program helps business customers fund up to 100% of project costs related to installing electricity infrastructure. Recent projects such as the installation of EV charging stations at Aquarium of Niagara and in the Village of Ellicottville demonstrate the collaborative nature of how National Grid works with customers toward shared, clean energy goals. The company plans to invest more than $150 million in Make-Ready incentives to install 9,000 plugs across Upstate New York – including 3,000 across Western New York – by the end of 2025.
These projects also align with New York State’s climate action initiatives that call for reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved air quality and zero-emission vehicle regulations by 2035. New York State provided additional support to meet these goals in November when it announced additional infrastructure funding to accelerate electric vehicle adoption and stimulate $4 billion in EV charging infrastructure investments.
More information about National Grid’s EV Make-Ready Program is available in this downloadable brochure, or by emailing EVNationalGridUNY@nationalgrid.com.
About National Grid
National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York and Massachusetts. National Grid is focused on building a smarter, stronger, cleaner energy future — transforming our networks with more reliable and resilient energy solutions to meet state climate goals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.