Recharge Massachusetts hosted its “Recharging Careers and a Clean Future for Western Massachusetts” event at Springfield Technical Community College.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Recharge Massachusetts hosted its “Recharging Careers and a Clean Future for Western Massachusetts” event at Springfield Technical Community College.
The event focused on encouraging the community to shift to electric vehicles and look into jobs in the electrification field. This was all part of an effort to continue the transition to clean energy in the U.S. To do that, the organization allowed guests to go on test drives with local dealerships, try out e-bikes and even learn more about electrification at a career fair.
Stephanie Dorman of Recharge America told 22News, “By coming out and experiencing you get to see this is doable, I can fit this into my life. You can talk to EV owners and see what it’s like for them. How do they charge, how do they charge on the go and at home and what’s their range. Technology is increasing so the new vehicles coming out have a higher range.”
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, electric vehicles can reduce fuel costs due to the high efficiency of electric-drive components. EV’s also come with flexible charging as the electric grid is near most locations where people park. The department stated that energy efficient vehicles like hybrid and electric vehicle support the U.S. economy while also diversifying the U.S. transportation fleet.
According to Recharge Massachusetts, the U.S. plans to be net-zero emissions by 2050 and electric vehicles could help to bring that to reality. The organization said that half of all new vehicles will be EV’s by 2030.
The president at STCC told 22News that it’s important that people are aware of all the opportunities that are available when it comes to electric vehicles.
John B Cook, the President of Springfield Technical Community College said, “We want to make sure that everyone in our community, as a community college making sure that low income families, folks really understand what is this world we continue to march forward into it and how do we make sure people have access to these opportunities.”