Montauk to get car charging station in time for vacation season

Tesla plans to bring a supercharger station to Montauk this summer to help alleviate “range anxiety” for those driving electric vehicles to the Island’s end.

Promoting electric vehicle use is part of East Hampton Town’s goal of meeting all the community’s energy needs through renewable sources by 2030. The town last year issued a call for proposals to build charging stations on town land at no cost to taxpayers.

Electrify America, a Volkswagen subsidiary that has earmarked $2 billion for investing in the national electric vehicle charging grid as part of a diesel emissions lawsuit settlement, and Tesla were the only bidders for the project.

The town board on Dec. 19 approved entering a contract with the Palo Alto, California-based automaker to add eight of its superchargers at an East Hampton Town parking lot on South Euclid Avenue in Montauk. The town also approved entering an agreement with Electrify America, which proposed installing four universal direct current fast chargers, also known as Level 3 chargers, at the site. 

“Providing critical infrastructure is a key component of transitioning away from the use of fossil-fuel powered vehicles to electric vehicles,” Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said in a statement. “This will require investment in the needed infrastructure, such as electric vehicle charging stations.”

An Electrify America spokesman said a deal had not been finalized and had no comment. Tesla representatives did not respond to a request for comment.

A universal Level 3 charger can power a vehicle to 80% of its max in 30 minutes. A supercharger, which can only be used by a Tesla, gives 180 miles of range in 15 minutes.

“Having fast charging options in vacation destinations allows for easy and stress-free EV ownership, leading people to leave their gas-powered vehicles behind,” Tesla said in its proposal to the town. 

The nearest Tesla superchargers to Montauk are at Café Crust in Southampton and Dave & Busters in Islandia, according to the Tesla website. There are several universal Level 3 chargers on the East End, including at Stop and Shop in Hampton Bays, according to the New York State Energy and Research Development Agency website.

Long Island has fewer public chargers than other areas in the state, one of the key barriers to increasing electric vehicle ownership, according to a 2019 report from the nonprofit Drive Electric Long Island Coalition. Other barriers are a lack of awareness and cost.

There are 5.6 vehicles on the road for every Level 3 public charger statewide, while there are 267 vehicles per charger on Long Island.

“More EV infrastructure is needed to keep up with the growing number of electric vehicles and to help alleviate ‘range anxiety,’ ” which is the fear of running out of power, the report states.

Ron Gulmi, chairman of Drive Electric Long Island’s infrastructure committee, said the organization supports the town project and he hopes other municipalities will follow suit.

“We definitely need DC fast charging along the main thoroughfares, the LIE, Sunrise Highway, Hempstead Turnpike, Route 347,” he said. “There’s a major void and it’s just starting [to grow].”

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.