Summary

With the arrival this fall of the nation’s first mass-produced, commercially-available electric vehicles, King County Executive Dow Constantine today unveiled commitments for more than 125 new electric plug-in stations in the county. The stations will support the hundreds of new electric plug-in vehicles now being purchased by both the public and government agencies all across the region.

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With the arrival this fall of the nation’s first mass-produced, commercially-available electric vehicles, King County Executive Dow Constantine today unveiled commitments for more than 125 new electric plug-in stations in the county. The stations will support the hundreds of new electric plug-in vehicles now being purchased by both the public and government agencies all across the region.

The Executive made the announcement today at the “Get Plug-in Ready Now” Conference in Bellevue, a meeting to prepare public and private organizations for the arrival of commercially-available electric vehicles.

“Advances in electric vehicle technology and the wider availability of plug-in stations like the ones King County is adding are part of why I’m planning to buy an electric car for my personal use and encouraging others to try one,” Constantine said. “They’re moving beyond early adopters to the mass market, and by making infrastructure investments that support plug-in vehicles, King County is helping to create new green jobs and reduce carbon emissions.”

For its part, King County will take delivery of five electric fleet vehicles, 30 electric vehicles for Metro Transit’s commuter vanpool fleet and will install 50 new electric charging stations at County-owned and leased sites by the end of this year. These efforts will help the County reach its goal of reducing County vehicle energy usage by 10 percent by the year 2015.

Additional electric charging stations will be coming to Seattle, Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond, Renton and Sammamish in 2011. Vanpool charging stations will be placed at major employment sites including the city of Issaquah, Children’s Hospital and Amgen. Negotiations with other major employers are underway.

“King County has an opportunity in the near future to adapt some of its existing capital facilities, like our park-and-rides, to create a working infrastructure for plug-in stations,” said Council Vice Chair Jane Hague. “I commend Executive Constantine for his continued efforts to make electric vehicles more commercially viable for our local consumers. Public and private partnerships like the Clean Cities Coalition, are also key.

“Making electric vehicle charging stations available at park-and-rides and other places around the region will make owning an electric vehicle possible and convenient for King County residents,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, Chair of the Council’s Environment and Transportation Committee. “The funding to help bring electric vehicles to our region was made possible in large part through the federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program. This crucial program for helping local communities save energy and money is in jeopardy of ending without federal action to keep investing in climate solutions.”

King County has been working with federal, state and local governments to support the development of electric vehicle programs for more than two years. These efforts are expected to transform the Seattle metropolitan area into a nationwide hub for green vehicle technology.

King County is a founding sponsor of the Clean Cities Coalition, a partnership that includes the cities of Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Renton, Issaquah, Mercer Island and Sammamish along with private partners created to advance environmental and public health, energy security, and economic development.

The current list of future plug-in stations available for future public use includes:

For more information about King County’s efforts to promote the use of electric vehicles and to view a map of future electric plug-in vehicle locations around the county, visit: https://kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/keyinitiatives/ElectricVehicles.aspx