ComEd Unveils Plan to Support Beneficial Electrification in Northern Illinois, Including Increased Adoption of Electric Vehicles - Seite 2

ComEd made the announcement during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a recently installed Multi-Unit Dwelling (MUD) EV charging station at 43rd Street and Calumet Avenue in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. This installation is the first of five planned MUD charging stations that will serve residential properties with three or more units and enable research funded in part by a U.S. Department of Energy grant. EV charging infrastructure, and especially infrastructure designed to provide accessibility to all communities, is vital for the broad adoption of EVs. The new BE Plan, combined with state and federal programs, will further expand deployment of EV infrastructure across northern Illinois.

“For too long, the health of our communities has been negatively impacted by harmful air pollution, but CEJA is giving us an opportunity to reverse that trend and accelerate the transition to EVs,” said Billy Davis, General Manager of Jitney EV and a member of the Bronzeville Community of the Future Advisory Council. “The Beneficial Electrification plan ComEd is proposing will give a much-needed boost to our efforts in Bronzeville and across the region to electrify transportation, eliminate charging deserts, improve air quality, and create economic opportunities for new businesses.”

In support of the state’s goals, the plan will contribute to long-term air quality improvements by enabling EV adoption to lower carbon and air pollutant emissions. ComEd estimates that vehicle and other incentives and rebates as outlined in the plan would help remove 900,000 metric tons of carbon emissions, the equivalent of the amount of carbon sequestered by approximately 1 million acres of U.S. forests in one year, an area approximately the size of Glacier National Park. What’s more, the plan would avoid an estimated 4,000 metric tons of local pollutants emitted from vehicle tailpipes, providing health and human welfare benefits, especially for disadvantaged communities where vehicle emissions have the greatest health impacts.

“CACC encourages the use of clean fuel vehicles, clean fuels, and advanced vehicle technologies to promote an improved environment, energy efficiencies, domestic and renewable fuels, and a reduction in the use of imported petroleum,” said John Walton, Chair of the Chicago Area Clean Cities (CACC) coalition. “Electric vehicles have a role in furthering our mission to improve air quality and reduce lung disease, and ComEd’s beneficial electrification plan will help expand access to infrastructure and encourage more robust EV participation for our region.”