The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), as part of its VW Trust Fund Settlement, has awarded $18,000 to the City of Carmel to install two electric vehicle chargers. Carmel was one of 31 cities within Indiana to be awarded funding from the $615,000 allocated to install Level 2 chargers across the state. Level 2 chargers can put 20 to 30 miles of electricity in an electric vehicle per hour.
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The City was awarded this competitive grant by partnering with the Carmel Redevelopment Commission, local developers Monon and Main, LLC and Novo Development Group to find locations to install the chargers and share expenses not covered by the grant. The projects will bring much-needed electric vehicle infrastructure into the community.
“Having a robust charger network will help with the transition to cleaner emission electric vehicles which will reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change and smog, improving public health and reducing ecological damage,” Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said. “As the grid uses less carbon based fuels and switches to renewable energy, electric vehicles will be that much cleaner.”
The two locations for charging stations will be:
- Monon and Main parking garage (located behind Anthony’s Chop House, a block west of the Monon Greenway)
- Proscenium parking garage (to be located on the northwest corner of Range Line Road and Carmel Drive)
The Indiana Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund was established in 2017 to disburse more than $40 million the state received from Volkswagen after the company settled a federal lawsuit alleging it disabled emissions controls on their diesel vehicles. IDEM has allocated $6.15 million for the implementation of a statewide electric vehicle charging network along Indiana’s highway system.