Energy Transition Institute Partners with Answer to Prayer Network on EV Charging Initiative

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The UMass Amherst Energy Transition Institute (ETI) is participating in a new electric vehicle (EV) initiative led by Answer to Prayer Network (ATP). ATP is working with churches throughout Massachusetts to install EV charging infrastructure in their parking lots to help serve their congregations and ease charging barriers for residents who are considering EV adoption. 

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Erin Baker

Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and Faculty Director of ETI Erin Baker, working with Industrial Engineering and Operations Research PhD student Faustina Sarfo, will co-design research with parishioners and community members to ensure that underserved voices shape the project’s direction. Together, they will develop a survey for EV charger users and local residents to understand the charging stations’ community impacts, including potential reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from transitions to EVs. 

This project is made possible by a $524,000 grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) through the Accelerating Clean Transportation for All, Round 2 Program, which aims to increase clean transportation access and decrease transportation burdens throughout the Commonwealth.  

Investment in EVs and charging infrastructure in underserved communities significantly lags behind that of more affluent neighborhoods. This project will help address the need for effective deployment of EVs and propose a scalable strategy for infrastructure development along strategic corridors and in neighborhoods, with a focus on urban and rural communities that are underserved. The transition to EVs represents a crucial step towards sustainability, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and ensuring access to clean transportation options across all communities—a step that dovetails with ETI’s focus on helping create an environmentally sustainable and equitable energy future. 

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Faustina Sarfo

Sarfo’s PhD research focuses on developing data analytics and computational models, with an emphasis on integrating community perspectives in order to improve access to sustainable energy and mobility in marginalized communities. Baker applies operations research and economics to decision making under uncertainty, with a focus on Energy Justice and publicly-funded energy technology Research & Development portfolios in the face of climate change. 

Overall, the ATP project aims to install 24 Level 2 charging ports (plugs) in targeted church properties, the first of which was opened to the public on November 16, 2025, at the Malden First Church of the Nazarene, in Malden, Massachusetts. Baker and Sarfo will work with parishioners and neighbors of St. Peters in Holyoke, Massachusetts, which is scheduled to have charging ports installed in 2026. 

In addition to ETI, ATP is collaborating with utilities, hardware and software networks, and service providers to establish sustainable financial systems that support both the churches and their EV charging stations. Other partners, including the Massachusetts Clean Cities Coalition, will provide community outreach to educate stakeholders about the benefits of EVs, EV charging, and offer interactive EV events to interested congregations.

“We couldn’t be more pleased to work with the ETI team on this project,” stated Tom Moylan, President of ATP.  “They perfectly compliment this effort to install EV Charging Stations in underserved neighborhoods.  Churches have been serving the underserved since their inception and this is a great way for them to continue that mission in a culturally relevant way.”