Electric vehicle rebate among staff proposals to speed up Toronto’s target to become a carbon neutral city is “inconsistent with everything else we’ve done,” Toronto Mayor John Tory says.
The province announced last week its ambitious plan to transition Canada’s largest city to carbon neutral by 2050. The province’s long-term targets are a departure from the city’s status as Canada’s most populous electric vehicle (EV) market despite decades of planning at the municipal level.
Tory says that decision was not a “silver bullet” but “a necessary addition to our transition plan.” But the mayor points to other green projects that have been done at Ontario universities and other municipalities, such as the $100,000 EV charging stations city of Toronto is currently building.
In a city where many residents have either an old car or no car at all (according to a 2017 survey), Tory says it’s a priority.
In Toronto, a city of more than 8.4 million, the number of electric vehicles in circulation had passed 60,000 by the end of 2017, and the city’s fleet of buses runs on 100 per cent electric power.
As of April 1, 2018, the city will be able to sell up to 25 cents a kilowatt hour of surplus electricity to utilities instead of paying for it, for a total rebate of $800,000 annually.
In light of this, the city’s rebate program for electric vehicles will be extended to include rebate programs for homeowners who install solar panels, buy energy efficient appliances, or switch from incandescent lighting to LED lighting at their homes.
The city will also provide a $1,000 rebate for the purchase of an electric bike or scooter and rebate payments for charging stations.
The rebate will be distributed to all households, with the aim of reaching 1,000 households in the first year. The city says that it’s