A local nonprofit organization is holding a webinar on Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in mid-May.
The Georgian Bay Biosphere’s EV Infrastructure 101, taking place on May 17 from 7 to 8 PM, will be going over everything that you need to know about charging an EV and where to find chargers within the community as well as the broader region.
Benjamin John, GBB Climate and Energy Programs Manager says the event is going to be part of a larger webinar series the biosphere is holding. He says they held a webinar in March on EV 101 and will be holding webinars in June and August as well.
“The EV Charging 101 webinar that’s coming up here in May is being delivered by an organization called Plug n’ Drive. They delivered our last webinar as well. [The webinars] are free to attend and we would like as many people to come out as possible,” he says.
John says this webinar series is a much larger project GBB is currently working on, focused on sustainable transportation in general. He says that includes electric vehicles as well as E-bikes, and later in the summer, a sustainable transportation event. He says Plug n’ Drive will be coming to that event as well, where folks will have a chance to test drive an EV, experience it firsthand, and ask questions. Plug n’ Drive is an Ontario-based non-profit focused on accelerating EV deployment to maximize its environmental and economic benefits.
John says EV adoption rates are rapidly increasing, adding they make sense in a number of different ways.
“From one perspective, they reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, which is great. The other thing, over the life cycle of a vehicle, they’re actually cheaper to own than a gas vehicle. So, they do make a lot of economic sense, and these are the types of information pieces that (GBB) is trying to share with the community,” he says.
John says with these webinars the biosphere is hoping to pass along information, as well as tools and resources for anyone interested in looking into EVs further.
“We are trying to champion [EV] technology, but for many reasons. Within the biosphere region transportation is one of our highest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. So, to really have an impact on climate change we need to start viewing and looking at different ways in which we move throughout the region,” John says.
He adds anyone interested in attending the webinar can register for it at gbbr.ca/events, where you’ll also find the other webinars mentioned. He says they’re completely free of charge and once you register, you’ll receive the Zoom link to attend the session.