The corner of Main and Jefferson streets in the North End is one example, said Tina Quagliato Sullivan, deputy development director.
“The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center wants to break down barriers to electric vehicles for low-income residents,” she said. “So we are looking for affordable housing in neighborhoods. But there are a lot of parameters. Would it impact existing on-street parking?”
The Clean Energy Center has grant money to install the chargers once sites are selected, Sullivan said.
Massachusetts is a leader in offering electric vehicle charging stations. It is home to the fourth most stations per-capita of any state in the nation, according to a report released last week by the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Coordinating Council.
The state had 9,400 charging ports available to the public across the Commonwealth as of May, the report said. That’s an increase of more than 50% since 2023.
But the state will need to add more public chargers in order to meet climate goals, the report said. And Western Massachusetts, which has comparatively fewer now, is a priority.
Last week, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection announced it will allocate $46 million through 2027 for charging infrastructure.
The evaluation that Sullivan is working on was announced in July.
Springfield is one of 21 towns and cities receiving feasibility and planning support as part of the On-Street Charging Program for municipalities.
Holyoke, Worcester and Amherst are also part of the program.
Sullivan said the evaluation will take 60 days or so. She’s not the only one working to add chargers downtown.
The Springfield Parking Authorityis meeting with Eversource and others, hoping to incorporate new chargers with some coming renovations, said executive director Bokul Bhuiya.
Chargers installed in the authority’s I-91 North Garage and Columbus Center Garage about a decade ago haven’t worked in a few years and are too expensive to repair.
“Technology is moving so fast,” he said.
The Springfield Technology Park at State and Federal streets is getting new chargers as well, said Jennifer Murphy, the property manager on behalf of Appleton Corp.
MassSave paid to install power supplies and charging stations. A new grant pays 60% of the cost of just the charger, she said.
Plans call for two stations with the capacity for two cars each in one location and another two-car station elsewhere in the parking area, for a total of six, Murphy said.
EV owners will pay to charge their cars, she said, but the park’s plan is to only charge enough to pay for the cost of electricity.
Springfield Technical Community College, located across Federal Street in another part of the old armory complex, also has chargers in its parking lot.
At Springfield Union Station, income from the charging stations has gone up slightly every year, said Nicole Sweeney, commercial property manager. That shows more people are using the chargers for longer.
The chargers, on the first and second floors of the parking garage off Main Street, were installed in 2018, soon after the station reopened.
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