Emissions, anyone? In Massachusetts, transportation accounts for a whopping 43%  of our greenhouse gas emissions. Electric vehicles, in combination with renewable, carbon-free electricity generation can dramatically reduce your greenhouse gas emissions because they have lower lifecycle emissions than gas-powered cars, even after accounting for extra emissions from battery manufacturing.

With a renewably-powered EV, the only source of emissions comes from the manufacturing process. If the electricity comes from fossil fuels, driving an EV is obviously not entirely pollution free. Still, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, EV’s and plug-ins have a much smaller carbon footprint than conventional cars no matter what the source of the electricity.

The Town of Concord offers some great deals for EV owners. The EV miles program offers a discount on your CMLP electric bill of $10/month for a fully electric car (a BEV) and $5/month for a plug in hybrid, provided that you plug in at home during off-peak hours, which are from 10 pm until noon on weekdays and any time at weekends. This discount will give you 1,000 to 2,000 free miles for you PHEV or EV! And that is on top of the saving in fuel costs as the equivalent cost of fuel is about $1 per gallon. Even with today’s low cost of gasoline, that is a substantial saving. The reason for offering this benefit is that demand for electricity is lower at night and it helps balance the daily fluctuations in demand for electricity and keeps the cost of purchasing electricity from the grid down. The EV miles program website gives details on how to enroll in the program.

Most people charge their cars at home. While it is possible to charge a BEV or PHEV at 120 volts, the charging rate is very slow with only 3–5 miles of range gained per hour of charging. A Level 2 charger will fully charge a car overnight. A Level 2 charging system .consists of a 240 volt wiring circuit from your house electrical panel to a NEMA 14-50 outlet or to a home EV charging station. The cost of installing a charger depends a lot on how easy it is to wire a 240 volt circuit in your garage and can range from hundreds to a few thousand dollars. You can charge a Tesla directly from a NEMA 14-50 outlet, which is just like the outlet you use for your dryer. Other EVs require a wall-mounted home charging station, which can offer components ranging from standard safety features and status lights to features such as enhanced displays, smartphone connections, and keypads. Some home charging stations must be hard-wired to the 240 volt circuit. Others can be plugged into a NEMA 14-50 outlet. Concord’s Level 2 Charger Program offers a $250 rebate towards the installation of a Level 2 system.

There are a lot of great choices on the market right now, from all-electric to hybrids with plug-in options. They’re fun to drive with their great pickup and power. And they are cheaper to run: according to the Department of Energy, electric vehicles can save as much as $1,200 per year in fuel costs. EVs have fewer moving parts and are therefore much cheaper to maintain: they do not need oil changes, and have no transmission fluids, fuel pumps, timing belts and many other moving parts.

Range anxiety? Fully electric vehicles (EV) are constrained by their battery capacity, but the battery range improves by the year. For example, the new highly-rated Chevrolet Bolt has a range of 259 miles. The Tesla Model 3 has a range of 250-322 miles  depending on the option you choose. And the network of charging stations keeps expanding, with many apps that help you locate public charging stations and if they are available in real time. There are for instance, 1,870 Tesla Supercharger Stations in North America (these can’t be used by other makes, though). Most chargers are located conveniently at restaurants or roadside rest stops. Concord has several public charging stations, to be found in the Keyes Rd and Walden St parking lots, opposite the main library, in Rideout Park, the West Concord train station, and at Walden Pond. Concord will soon have a fast charger, which will charge your car in under an hour, at Rideout Park.

There are 1,870 Tesla Supercharger Stations with 16,585 Superchargers in North America. You can use Tesla Destination Charging locations, usually located conveniently at restaurants or roadside rest stops, to not only charge a Tesla but with some other EVs.