The Town of Burns Harbor was one of 11 communities in Northwest Indiana selected to receive a Level 2 electric vehicle charging station, according to an announcement from South Shore Clean Cities.
South Shore Clean Cities partners were awarded a total of $206,000 in Indiana Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund grants to aid the expansion of public electric vehicle charging stations.
Stations were planned for Burns Harbor, Portage, Michigan City, Crown Point, Gary, Lake Station, Whiting, Hammond, Highland, Merrillville and Munster in Northwest Indiana. Seven additional stations were planned in the Michiana area: Culver, Elkhart, Goshen, Mishawaka, Plymouth, South Bend and Warsaw.
The grants were awarded through the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission and the Michiana Area Council of Governments after approval by the Indiana Volkswagen Environmental Trust Fund Committee.
South Shore Clean Cities said the stations could encourage electric vehicle adoption, provide destinations for EV owners, support local economies and improve air quality.
The awards represented 42 percent of the total number of grants approved at that time. The committee approved $493,000 in grants for 56 communities.
South Shore Clean Cities partnered with NIPSCO on an incentive program called Project Plug-IN for the grant applications. Under the program, NIPSCO pledged a cash match of up to $500 for each successful application meeting the eligibility criteria. Eligible applicants included public and nonprofit NIPSCO electric customers and Northern Indiana Green Fleet Program members in good standing who worked with South Shore Clean Cities on a proposal.
South Shore Clean Cities managed the Northern Indiana Green Fleet Program for NIRPC and MACOG. The program sought to improve the environmental performance of business and government vehicle fleets through diesel retrofits and other strategies, while helping participating fleets address barriers to sustainable transportation.
In October 2017, an Indiana executive order outlined steps to distribute the state's $40.9 million portion of the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund. The fund resulted from a settlement concerning violations of the federal Clean Air Act.
South Shore Clean Cities said the Level 2 charging projects made use of grant opportunities to support sustainable transportation infrastructure on public property while reducing the burden on local taxpayers.