The Puget Sound region is considered a great market for electric vehicles. Many public and private partners are currently working on infrastructure and technology needed to make charging the cars easy and convenient. Activities in the region include:

• The EV Project has $20M (as part of a larger $100M US Department of Energy grant) for infrastructure. They will be deploying over 1,200 public and fleet charging stations, and approximately 1,000 private charging stations. As part of this, Nissan is making their new battery electric LEAF available to purchasers in this region.

• ChargeNW/Coloumb recently was awarded $37M to install 5,000 charging stations in 37 regions, one of which includes eastern King County.

• The Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition was awarded $15M to install charging stations and purchase fleet vehicles. They are working with many local governments across the region. Additionally, many local governments are using their Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant dollars to purchase charging stations and fleet electric vehicles.

• The 2009 Legislature passed SSHB 1481, an Act related to electric vehicle infrastructure. The act requires local jurisdictions to allow electric vehicle infrastructure in their development regulations in most zones. PSRC and Commerce are working together to develop guidance for local governments to help them comply with this new requirement.

• The Legislature passed a Clean Car Bill (ESHB 1397) in 2005 and a Clean Energy Bill in 2007 (E2SHB 1303), which requires the state and local governments to get 100% of their fuel for vessels, vehicles and equipment from electricity or biofuel.

• Microsoft and the Ford Motor Co. are working together on electric vehicle information technology on-board systems, which will help EV owners with charging. The technology is also intended to help utility companies manage the added demands of electric vehicles on the electrical grid.

• Just outside the region, a new $100 million carbon fiber production plant will be built in Moses Lake, Wash., by BMW Group and SGL Group, and part of this work will be related to electric vehicles.

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