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New York to require new vehicles be zero-emission by 2035
Sharon Udasin is reporting for The Hill that the state of New York will require all new vehicles purchased beginning in 2035 to be zero-emission models, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced September 29. “We’re really putting our foot down on the accelerator and revving up our efforts to make sure we have this transition — not someday in the future, but on a specific date, a specific year — by the year 2035,” Hochul said at a press conference in Westchester County. Hochul announced a series of new electric vehicle initiatives for the state, and said that 35 percent of new cars will need to be zero-emission by 2026, and 68 percent by 2030. All new school buses purchased must be zero-emission by 2027, with the entire fleet meeting those standards by 2035, the governor said. The state Department of Environmental Conservation will be expediting its regulatory process to implement related legislation signed by Hochul last year, which would allow the state to realize those goals. Under the state’s Drive Clean Rebate program, residents can qualify for an up to $2,000 rebate in all 62 counties. The state has already issued more than 78,000 rebates and spent more than $90 million on the programs, according to the governor. Hochul also announced that the New York Power Authority just installed its 100th high-speed electric vehicle charger, as part of the state’s EVolve NY statewide charging network. Any battery-powered EV can charge at these stations in as little as 20 minutes. New York state will receive $175 million from the bipartisan infrastructure law’s $5 billion allocation for EV charging networks. Read more at TheHill [dot] com.