The Baker-Polito administration is announcing several changes to the Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles Program (MOR-EV Program), which provides rebates for the purchase or lease of electric vehicles, in order to continue efforts to reduce air pollution and to increase access to clean transportation options across the Commonwealth.
Light-duty battery electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles purchased or leased for at least 36 months now qualify for a rebate of $3,500 for eligible applications received on or after November 10, 2022. Additionally, annual and lifetime vehicle caps for the number of fleet EVs acquired with a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 pounds or less have been eliminated. Eligible plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with an all-electric range of 25 miles or greater will continue to receive rebates of $1,500.
These changes are being announced following Gov. Charlie Baker signing An Act Relating to Economic Growth and Relief for the Commonwealth on November 10, which provides $50 million in funding for electric vehicle incentives.
“The Baker-Polito administration has taken an aggressive approach to reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to improve air quality, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and achieve the state’s emissions reduction goals,” says Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beth Card. “By making these significant changes to the MOR-EV Program, more people will be eligible to receive rebates that offset the cost of electric vehicles purchases, making them more affordable and further accelerating our efforts to decarbonize the transportation sector.”
The MOR-EV Program aims to provide air pollution emission reductions for the Commonwealth by increasing the use of EVs. Funded by DOER and administered statewide by the Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE), the MOR-EV Program provides rebates for the purchase or lease of BEVs, FCEVs and PHEVs. Further changes to the MOR-EV Program are expected to be announced in the Spring of 2023.
Since June 2014, the MOR-EV Program has issued more than $54 million in rebates, incentivizing the purchase of more than 26,000 EVs. Earlier this year, an independent report was commissioned that determined the program has been cost-effective while providing a number of recommendations for program design.
“Reducing emissions in the transportation sector is critical to meeting our greenhouse gas reduction goals and will make our communities cleaner, healthier places to live,” states Department of Energy Resources Commissioner Patrick Woodcock. “These changes to the MOR-EV Program will keep pace with the marketplace and ensure the ongoing sustainability of the program, which will not only help reduce emissions but will also lower our reliance on fossil fuels.”
The funding for the program comes from the signing of An Act Relating to Economic Growth and Relief for the Commonwealth, which promotes economic development, strengthens health and human services, advances clean energy and resiliency, expands affordable housing production, and invests in Massachusetts communities, businesses, and workers.
The legislation included funding for several proposals introduced by the Baker-Polito Administration in the FORWARD economic development bill that was filed in April and in multiple supplemental budget proposals, including the most recent proposal from August to close out Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22). The bill is funded by a combination of state resources, including FY22 surplus revenue, and federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act Fiscal Recovery Fund (ARPA-FRF). Several other changes to the MOR-EV program will need to be pursued after additional plans are developed for implementation.