Expanding access to electric vehicle charging stations

King County will update an earlier program that installed 110-volt plugs for electric vehicle charging by installing new and upgrading to new, 220-volt (Level 2) electric vehicle charging stations at various locations. Currently, the update currently includes ten new Level 2 stations at the new Burien Transit Center Park-and-Ride garage. Construction is underway to install eight Level 2 stations at King Street Center in Seattle's Pioner Square, and 12 Level 2 stations at the Issaquah Highlands Park-and-Ride garage.

The county has received more than $1 million for this effort from U.S. Department of Energy grants. Sources include a grant to the Clean Cities Coalition (a project of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency) and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program.

The county will also receive a portion of a grant awarded to Nissan USA and Ecotality, a manufacturer of electric vehicle charging stations. Through this grant, King County partner organizations have received a number of charging stations at no cost from Ecotality to serve new all-electric County Metropool vehicles. Ecotality is investing approximately $20 million in the region to support the deployment of the next generation of electric vehicles. The charging stations will go to purchasers of a Nissan Leaf, an electric vehicle that Nissan will introduce late this year. Nissan plans to release about 1,000 Leaf vehicles in the Central Puget Sound region.

These awards, along with investments by other local jurisdictions, represent the largest public investment in electric vehicle infrastructure in our region to date.

King County and its partners have engaged in the following efforts to support the development of electric vehicle infrastructure:

Modeling travel behaviors of electric vehicle (EV) users
Based on assumptions about the travel of EV users and existing modeling data from the Puget Sound Regional Council, the county and its partners will identify where potential EV owners live and where they are likely to go (and park) for two or more hours.

Gathering public input on charging station placement
The Central Puget Sound Region will receive approximately 1,000 charging stations at no cost throug this program. Members of the public are invited to request placement of a charging station in their area by visiting  www.theevproject.com.

Electric Vehicle Model Ordinance and Guidance
A Guide for Local Governments in Washington State is a tool to assist local governments in meeting the purpose and requirements of Washington’s new electric vehicle infrastructure law. PSRC, working with the state Department of Commerce, is required to develop model ordinances, regulations and guidance for local governments related to electric vehicle infrastructure and batteries. This included working with a technical advisory committee made up of a broad spectrum of interests groups and agencies.

Electric vehicle purchases

As part of King County’s effort to continue as a leader in using new, clean technologies in the transportation sector, the county has purchased 20 all-electric Nissan Leafs for King County Metro Transit’s new Metropool program, an extension of our existing Vanpool and Vanshare programs, and five other Nissan Leafs for Fleet Administration to enter into the County employee's Motorpool Program for use in county operations.

Future “sustainable transportation hubs”

Future and existing transit-oriented developments provide an opportunity to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by integrating new conservation and energy efficiency technology with land-use and transportation planning. King County is planning to develop hubs that provide frequent, regional, multi-destination public transportation service; technology to support public use of plug-in electric vehicles; and other programs to support vehicle-sharing.

Past efforts to support electric vehicles

Over the past few years, Metro Transit has installed 110-volt plugs that can be used to charge electric vehicles at selected park-and-rides. This effort has benefited individuals who drive the earlier generation of battery-electric vehicles and are likely to be dependent on vehicle recharging stations at park-and-ride lots. Five park-and-rides currently have plug-in outlets:

• Issaquah Highlands Park-and-Ride, at 1755 Highlands Drive in Issaquah, has 14 outlets (12 on Level 1 and two on Level 3).
• Eastgate Park-and-Ride, at 14200 SE Eastgate Way in Bellevue, has three outlets on Level 1.
• Redmond Park-and-Ride, at 16201 NE 83rd Street in Redmond, has 12 outlets.
• Burien Transit Center Park-and-Ride, at 14900 Fourth Avenue SW in Burien, has five outlets.
• Brickyard Park-and-Ride, at 15530 Juanita-Woodinville Way NE in Kirkland, has five outlets.

Electric-vehicle owners can register to use these stations by calling 206-625-4500 or visit ing www.rideshareonline.com/electric.