More charging stations coming to Nova Scotia

Feds provide $1.2 million to Clean Foundation

By the spring of 2023 drivers of electric vehicles will have at least a couple of hundred more places in Nova Scotia to charge up their vehicle.

The federal government recently announced $1.2 million in funding would be going to Nova Scotia's Clean Foundation to help install up to 250 Level-2 EV chargers.

Federal funds will come from the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP), Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said.

The EV chargers will be installed across the province in public places, on-street sites, at workplaces, multiunit residential buildings, and to support light-duty vehicle fleets. Clean Foundation

will use “a transparent process, based on demand” to decide where the chargers will go, according to a news release.

“Building Nova Scotia’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure will help address one of the key barriers to zero-emission vehicle adoption,” said Erin Burbidge, Clean Foundation's director, policy and programs.

“It will also support the province’s climate goal of having electric vehicles account for 30 per cent of vehicles sales by 2030.” Organizations interested in having an EV charger installed on their property, will likely be able to apply to Clean Foundation in February.

Eligible organizations will include electricity or gas utilities, companies, industry and research associations, standards organizations, Indigenous and community groups, academic institutions, and provincial, territorial, regional, or municipal governments or their departments or agencies.

Landlord Killam Apartment REIT recently announced it will be installing 150 charging stations at its buildings in Nova Scotia.

According to the federal government, it has invested $1 billion since 2015 to make electric vehicles more affordable and accessible for Canadians.

One of those measures includes rebates of up to $5,000 for the purchase of an electric vehicle.

The government spending aims to support the mandatory zero emission target for all passenger vehicles sold in Canada by 2035, Wilkinson said.