AQES’ Role in Facilitating Electric Vehicle Deployment

In New Jersey, the transportation sector accounts for almost half of all greenhouse gas emissions and is a large factor in creating ground-level ozone, or smog. Tailpipe emissions also include toxics that are harmful to public health.  Encouraging greater use of electric vehicles can reduce emissions from New Jersey’s transportation sector and improve the quality of our air.

Since electric vehicles run on electricity stored in a battery, they are ultimately powered by New Jersey’s grid, which is among the cleanest in the nation. Therefore, charging an electric vehicle in New Jersey reduces harmful emissions when compared to driving a gasoline powered vehicle. 

AQES looks at electric vehicle deployment from all angles, including the technology, infrastructure, regulations, grants/incentives, outreach and education, and regional coordination.

AQES’s Bureau of Mobile Sources oversees the Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) program which focuses on getting electric vehicles to NJ, and runs the highly successful It Pays to Plug In: Electric Vehicle Workplace Charging Grant Program which encourages employers to install electric vehicle charging equipment. 

AQES’s Bureau of Energy and Sustainability works with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, to promote cleaner transportation alternatives. The State’s Energy Master Plan highlights electric vehicles as one of the options that will drive New Jersey’s the transportation future. 

These Bureaus work closely together to inform New Jersey’s public about the benefits of electric vehicles and dispel the myths about electric vehicle ownership.  For more information about AQES’ Electric Vehicle efforts, visit http://www.drivegreen.nj.gov/.