BY KAREN BOSSICK
Test drive and learn more about the benefits of owning an all-electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid from 6 to 7:30 tonight—Thursday, June 15—at the Wood River Community YMCA at the corner of Warm Springs and Saddle roads in Ketchum.
Representatives from the RevUp Blaine Team, Idaho Power, Idaho National Laboratory and owners of electric vehicles will be on hand in the Y’s community room to answer questions.
The event is designed for those interested in learning more about purchasing EVs through RevUp Blaine’s limited time program, which helps Blaine County residents buy EVs at a deeply discounted price.
With tax credits thrown in, the Nissan Leaf S costs $16,484—about half of its $34,100 sticker price. The BMW i3 costs $39,629, down from $50,945. The Audi A3 e-tron costs $32,064, down from $38,900. And the Chevy Volt costs $24,038, down from $34,095.
More than 60 people have enrolled in the program, which offers Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf, Audi A3 e-tron and BMW i3. Ten EVs have already been purchased or leased and further sales are pending, according to Annie Keenan, the RevUp Blaine community outreach coordinator.
The program, part of the Sun Valley Institute, has an enrollment deadline of June 30, 2017.
Those who purchase or lease a vehicle through the program will also be offered a free lifetime membership from Vyykn water.
Prospective buyers can make an appointment to test drive a car at energy@sunvalleyinstitute.org. Those who can’t make an appointment for Thursday can test drive the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt on Friday, as well.
EVs are fun to drive, said Aimee Christensen, executive director of the Sun Valley Institute. And they reduce the local need for oil, which benefits both the environment and owners’ pocketbooks.
The discounts offered by RevUp Blaine equate to $10,000 off the Nissan Leaf, 7.5 percent off the Chevolet Volt, more than 7 percent off the BMW i3 and 6 percent off the Audi A-3 e-tron.
In addition, Idaho Power is offering a $300 incentive for RevUp Blaine participants to offset the cost of purchasing and installing a Level 2 home charging station.
This is the first such project in Idaho. Similar projects have been piloted in Boulder County, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Austin and the state of Minnesota.
The Sun Valley Institute, founded in 2015, focuses on policy leadership, public engagement and targeted investments to ensure economic prosperity, environmental protection, human wellbeing and resiliency in the Wood River Valley and beyond.
It offered discounted solar paneling during the summer of 2016.