PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — With more people choosing to drive electric vehicles, state and federal leaders have come up with ways to incentivize people for going green.

Andrew Tweedie is one of the thousands of people across Rhode Island who drives an electric vehicle (EV).

“This is my second electric car and my wife has an electric car and we have taken that on trips,” Tweedie said.

The program in Rhode Island is called Drive EV, which gives rebates to those who drive electric vehicles.

DRIVE EV will offer rebates of up to $2,500 for those who buy or lease battery or fuel-cell EVs, and up to $1,500 for new plug-in hybrid EVs. Rebates of up to $1,500 will be available for used EVs.

“There is a big push to go electric and to reduce the carbon footprint in Rhode Island,” said Sara Canabaro, administrator for Clean Energy Transportation at the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources.

To qualify for the individual rebate, new EVs are price capped at $60,000 and used vehicles are capped at $40,000.

According to the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, 321 applications have been approved from July 2022 to January 2023 and $764,750 in total has been awarded.

Additionally, for qualified small businesses, nonprofits and public sector entities, DRIVE EV FLEET will provide rebates of up to $2,500 for new EVs and $1,500 for used EVs.

“If you are located within certain areas of the state that has the highest asthma rate, you can actually qualify for an additional incentive of $1,000,” Canabaro said.

Drivers can apply for the rebate program online, or mail in an application, and qualified applicants will have 120 days from the date of purchase or lease to apply.

Canabaro said it can take four to six weeks to receive the rebate check.

“Sometimes folks forget to send the motor vehicle sales agreement which really gives us the break down which gives us the price of the vehicle before any taxes,” she explained.

On the federal level, there are tax credits for buying a new plug-in electric vehicle or a fuel cell vehicle.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, some of the qualifications include an electric vehicle must have a battery capacity of at least 7-kilowatt hours and it must have undergone final assembly in North America.