RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN)–As more electric cars and buses hit the road, more chargers will be needed.
Gov. Roy Cooper and Rep. Deborah Ross were at Siemens eMobility Manufacturing & Distribution System Headquarters in Wendell on Monday, highlighting the importance of electric vehicle infrastructure when it comes to cutting down on emissions.
Cooper called electric buses an investment in the future of the state. GoRaleigh has five electric buses out of about 105. Siemens installed and manufactured the charging units.
“I’m excited when I see charging stations being made here on the floor of Siemens, and we’re gonna be using those and deploying those all across North Carolina when we put our charging infrastructure in, so that’s exciting,” Cooper said.
According to North Carolina’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory report, transportation contributes to 36 percent of North Carolina’s greenhouse gas emissions.
GoRaleigh currently has six charging dispensers. The transit company is ramping up its charging infrastructure in the coming weeks. Gil Johnson, a consultant for GoRaleigh, said there will soon be 14 charging dispensers.
Johnson said it takes four to six hours for the bus to fully charge, he said the buses are usually half charged at the end of the day.
“You got to have a way to charge them, it’s different than an EV- electric vehicle- in that you really got a lot more battery, and a lot more charging that has to be done,” Johnson said.
He said the goal over the next decade is to have 25 percent of the fleet be electric and 75 percent be compressed natural gas.
“These, as well as the compressed natural gas buses, are much cleaner to run, are much quieter, and we’re very pleased with it so far,” Johnson said. “It continues to evolve, the technology’s evolving and we’re trying to stay out in front of that as best we can.”
Siemens said the facility added 100 jobs over the past two years and expects to add 50 more jobs next year.
