Lebanon, NH City Officials Thank EV-friendly Employers

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Sherry Boschert

The City of Lebanon, N.H. publicly thanked 17 Upper Valley employers in New Hampshire and Vermont that offer employees some electric vehicle (EV) charging or have other policies promoting EV adoption. The city displayed the resolution at the Upper Valley EV Expo on September 30 at Lebanon City Hall.

The resolution encourages other employers to get free help from a new federal program called EMPOWER that helps employers explore workplace charging, so that they do not have to figure it all out on their own. The northern New England contacts for EMPOWER are: Peggy O’Neill-Vivanco of the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition (poneillv@uvm.edu); Jessica Wilcox of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (jessica.wilcox@des.nh.gov), and Jon Gagne of Maine Clean Communities (jgagne@gpcog.org).

Lebanon City Council Resolution Honoring EV-friendly Employers

WHEREAS, the Lebanon City Council is committed to promoting sustainable transportation options and reducing or eliminating greenhouse gas emissions; and

WHEREAS, electric vehicles (EVs) reduce emissions by two-thirds compared with gasoline vehicles, even after accounting for emissions created by electricity production (according to the U.S. Department of Energy), and EVs get cleaner as our electrical grid gets cleaner; and

WHEREAS, EVs save drivers money compared with comparable gas vehicles thanks to greater efficiency, lower fuel costs, and minimal maintenance; and

WHEREAS, the least expensive, safest, and most logical places to charge an EV are at home or at work, where vehicles typically sit for eight or more hours per day; and

WHEREAS, not everyone can charge at home – especially renters and residents of multi-unit housing – which makes the availability of charging at work even more important; and

WHEREAS, being an EV-friendly employer can help with recruiting and retaining workers who want to drive EVs; and

WHEREAS,

• Dartmouth Health provides more than 20 EV charge ports for employees at three sites (Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, the Heater Road Clinic, and Alice Peck Day Hospital); and
• Hypertherm Associates provides at least seven charge ports at four of its buildings; and
• Adimab recently installed EV charging for employees; and
• Mascoma Bank offers employees an exceptionally low rate on loans to buy EVs; and
• Local car dealers including Lebanon Ford, Volvo and Volkswagen of Lebanon, and Nissan of Lebanon provide EV charging for use by employees and others; and

WHEREAS, these employers serve as role models for forward-thinking employers throughout the Upper Valley,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Lebanon City Council that we, the members of the Lebanon City Council, express our gratitude to Dartmouth Health, Hypertherm Associates, Mascoma Bank, Adimab, Lebanon Ford, Volvo and Volkswagen of Lebanon, Nissan of Lebanon, and all other employers in Lebanon who make EV charging available to their employees or otherwise facilitate adoption of EVs by employees. We are grateful for their efforts to meet the needs of employees who drive EVs and to create a sustainable and greener future for our City.

ALSO, BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the Lebanon City Council express our gratitude to employers elsewhere in the Upper Valley who may employ Lebanon residents and who make some EV charging or other EV-friendly policies available to employees, including:

In Hanover, N.H. – Dartmouth College and Kendal at Hanover;

In Enfield, N.H. – Montcalm Golf Club;

In Norwich, VT. – SolaflectEV and King Arthur Baking Company;

In Hartford and White River Junction, VT. — The Town of Hartford; Norwich EV; Mascoma Bank; Key Chevrolet of White River; Upper Valley Honda, and All-Star White River at the Gilman Office Center.

LASTLY, BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the Lebanon City Council encourage other employers to take advantage of free assistance for installing workplace EV charging that is available through the federal EMPOWER program (Equitable Mobility Powering Opportunities for Workplace Electrification Readiness) by contacting EMPOWER at www.workplacecharging.com or Jessica.Wilcox@des.nh.gov.

Dated this 20^th day of September 2023.

Signed by Lebanon Mayor Timothy J. McNamara on behalf of the Lebanon City Council

Caption:

Norwich EV charger installation at Orvis in Manchester, Vermont through the Green Mountain Power Workplace Charger Program. (Courtesy photo).

Clayton Morlock talks with Melissa Ingrisano about his BMW i3 EV at the Upper Valley Electric Vehicle Expo on September 30 in Lebanon, NH. (Meg Newman)