NYPA Donates Retired Electric Vehicles to New York State Educational Institutions for Clean Energy Workforce Training

For Immediate Release: 10/19/2021

Contact:  Lynne Smith | Lynne.smith@nypa.gov | 914) 346-4656

Pilot Program to Help Students Learn Automotive Maintenance and Repair Skills, Prepare for E-Mobility Career Opportunities

Donations Help Expand Career Prospects in Underrepresented Communities and Offer Education and Tools to Encourage More Widespread Adoption of Electric Vehicles

 

WHITE PLAINS—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) today announced the launch of an innovative pilot program to donate retired electric vehicles to regional educational institutions for use in automotive training programs to help students learn the skills needed to enter the clean energy workforce. The vehicle donations, going to underserved communities near NYPA facilities, will enhance job training and career opportunities for young New Yorkers interested in pursuing clean energy fields and illustrate New York State’s continuing commitment to advancing its nation-leading climate and energy goals. NYPA representatives joined with representatives from the Board of Regents, the State Education Department and the State University of New York in Albany today to announce the donation program at the Capital Region BOCES.

 

“This program is evidence of NYPA contributing to New York State’s green energy future in a tangible way by providing opportunities for young people living in underserved communities to learn the skills they need to participate in the clean energy economy,” said Fabio Mantovani, vice president of E-mobility at NYPA. “These retired electric vehicles will provide a hands-on tool for EV and hybrid vehicle operation, maintenance and repair training as part of the BOCES automotive curriculum.”

 

Through this program, NYPA donated three retired fleet vehicles that can no longer be used for state transport to Boards of Cooperative Education Centers (BOCES) institutions across the state for use in their automotive technical training classes. One vehicle each was delivered to Capital Region BOCES in Albany, Orleans-Niagara BOCES in Medina in the Finger Lakes and St. Lawrence BOCES in Canton in the North Country. The program is planned to serve as a pilot for a potential wider distribution of NYPA electric vehicles for educational purposes in the future.

Today’s announcement builds on Governor Kathy Hochul’s signing of new legislation last month to further advance the transition to clean electric vehicles and reduce climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. Through that effort, the Governor set a goal for all new passenger cars and trucks sold in New York State to be zero-emissions by 2035. She also directed the Department of Environmental Conservation to release a proposed regulation that would significantly reduce air pollution from trucks.

As the state increases its reliance on EVs, demand for EV-related job training and employees will increase, and NYPA’s vehicle donation program will help fulfill this need. The program also helps advance goals to increase the acceptance of electric vehicles in New York. Through NYPA’s EVolve NY initiative, the Authority is building a statewide fast charging network to encourage drivers to opt for electric transportation. Charging infrastructure is also being installed across the state by NYPA to help public transit companies electrify their bus fleets. The idea to donate retired vehicles came from a suggestion in an employee innovation contest in 2019.

“I want to thank the New York Power Authority for this generous car donation to help train the next generation of automotive service technicians,” said Capital Region BOCES District Superintendent Anita Murphy. “It will allow our students to work on a hybrid vehicle for the first time—affording them hands-on experience to learn the safe and appropriate way to maintain and repair the automobiles of today and the future.” 

 

This program also helps advance the goals outlined in New York State’s bold clean energy and climate agenda, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, known as the Climate Act. The Climate Act calls for the State to achieve a zero-emission electricity system by 2040 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050, setting a new standard for states and the nation to expedite the transition to a clean energy economy. 

NYPA is focusing donations in historically disadvantaged and marginalized communities located near its statewide facilities and assets. Ensuring underserved communities are included in skills training for the future low carbon economy is a priority goal of the Climate Act.

 

“Students who learn practical skills in an emerging field will be more likely to land competitive jobs and pursue careers that will be increasingly in demand,” said Lisa Payne Wansley, vice president of NYPA Environmental Justice. “These new training programs focused on new technologies and geared to the unique needs of our communities will help ensure an equitable transition for New York’s workforce as we move aggressively toward a clean energy economy.”

 

NYPA’s Environmental Justice team also helped secure funding for charging equipment, lab tools, and curriculum for future electric vehicle technicians funded by a $100,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The donated vehicles – 2012 and 2013 Ford Fusions and a 2012 Nissan Leaf – would previously have been sold at auction after five years or 75,000 miles of service were it not for this new program.

This program, conceptualized in part by Dr. Lester W. Young, Jr., chancellor of the Board of Regents, demonstrates New York State’s commitment to ensuring underrepresented communities are included in workforce development surrounding clean energy technologies. With the increasing popularity and availability of electric vehicles in the domestic market, the demand for technicians who can service these vehicles will increase as well.  As these vehicles are newer and their mechanical components vary greatly from gas powered vehicles, opportunities to practice on these vehicles with the goal of becoming a technician in this area are sparse.  The addition of EVs and hybrid vehicles to the institution’s curriculum will also allow those institutions to provide additional specialized certifications to students.  

Lester W. Young, Jr., Chancellor, Board of Regents, University of the State of New York, said, “As careers in technology continue to advance, our Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs must be able to keep pace so that New York’s students can meet their educational goals and be successful in their chosen career fields. Today's announcement is a demonstration of New York State's commitment to ensuring that underrepresented communities are prepared for careers in clean energy and green technologies.  On behalf of the Board of Regents, I thank Lisa Payne Wansley and NYPA for initiating this important partnership to donate three electric vehicles and NYSERDA for funding the charging infrastructure and curriculum to Capital Region BOCES, Orlean-Niagara BOCES and St. Lawrence BOCES." 

Betty Rosa, State Education Commissioner, said, “New York’s Career and Technical Education programs provide students with a unique opportunity to contribute significantly to the innovative and cutting-edge companies in our state. Meaningful collaboration is critical to the success of these programs, and I am thankful to NYPA for its commitment to this program and for the gift of these vehicles for our students.”

The Capital Region BOCES serves 24 school districts from Albany, Schenectady, Schoharie and Saratoga counties and hosts nearly 130 students in its automotive technology programs in Colonie. As electric and hybrid vehicles become increasingly popular, the program aims to provide programming about this technology. However, financial constraints make it impossible to obtain late model vehicles to use it its labs, and the program has to rely on the generosity of partners to donate vehicles to provide students with practical experience.

 

To learn more about the program, visit the BOCES website. 

 

 New York State's Nation-Leading Climate Plan

New York State’s nation-leading climate agenda is the most aggressive climate and clean energy initiative in the nation, calling for an orderly and just transition to clean energy that creates jobs and continues fostering a green economy as New York State recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Enshrined into law through the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, New York is on a path to achieve its mandated goal of a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and to reach economy wide carbon neutrality. It builds on New York's unprecedented investments to ramp-up clean energy including over $21 billion in 91 large-scale renewable projects across the state, $6.8 billion to reduce buildings emissions, $1.8 billion to scale up solar, more than $1 billion for clean transportation initiatives, and over $1.2 billion in NY Green Bank commitments. Combined, these investments are supporting more than 150,000 jobs in New York's clean energy sector in 2019, a 2,100 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011 and a commitment to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. Under the Climate Act, New York will build on this progress and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, while ensuring that at least 35 percent with a goal of 40 percent of the benefits of clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities, and advance progress towards the state's 2025 energy efficiency target of reducing on-site energy consumption by 185 trillion BTUs of end-use energy savings.

About NYPA

NYPA is the largest state public power organization in the nation, operating 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. More than 80 percent of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower. NYPA uses no tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. For more information visit www.nypa.gov and follow us on Twitter @NYPAenergy, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblrand LinkedIn.

 

About BOCES

The Capital Region Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) is the sixth-largest BOCES in New York state, and delivers more than 300 educational and administrative services to its 24 component school districts. Combined, these districts educate more than 80,000 students in the Albany, Schoharie, Schenectady and Saratoga counties of New York state. In addition, Capital Region BOCES provides several services to more than 150 school districts outside of the Capital Region. For more information, visit www.capitalregionboces.org.