Charging Stations Receive Funds, Jan. 25

Electric vehicle owners will soon have more options to power up while on the road. EV charging station projects in Bend, Coos Bay, Medford and Roseburg will receive over $260,000 in funding through Pacific Power’s electric vehicle charging station grant program. The program aims to help businesses, non-profits and local governments achieve sustainable energy goals while powering the future of electric transportation. “The electric vehicle charging station grant program is one of the ways Pacific Power is empowering local businesses, non-profits and governments to pick up speed toward more charging options for electric vehicle owners,” said Cory Scott, director of customer solutions. “Each grant recipient showed a creative and innovative spirit around their desire to promote sustainable energy practices at a local level. That same drive and dedication for sustainable, reliable and accessible energy underpins larger efforts by Pacific Power to help Oregon drivers transition from gas-powered vehicles to electric vehicles.” Pacific Power is providing grant funding to help non-residential customers develop community-driven electric transportation infrastructure projects. The electric vehicle charging station grant program will award $1.45 million through the end of 2019 to projects that advance transportation electrification in areas such as workplace charging and publicly accessible stations. “There is a growing interest in drivers switching from gas-powered to electric-powered vehicles with state agencies aiming for 50,000 electric vehicles on Oregon roads by 2020,” said Scott. “The electric vehicle grant program is one way Pacific Power is helping to make that future a reality.” Grant Recipients: High Desert Museum – Bend, Ore. (public charging / 6 ports);   City of Roseburg – Roseburg, Ore. (public charging / 8 ports); Farr True Value – Coos Bay, Ore. (public charging / 2 ports); Bay Area Hospital – Coos Bay, Ore. (public charging / 2 ports); KDP Certified Public Accountants – Medford, Ore. (workplace charging / 4 ports); White Oak Medical Clinic – Roseburg, Ore. (workplace charging / 6 ports). The next round of grant applications opened on Jan. 15, 2019. Funding awards will cover up to 100 percent of the project cost with up to $300,000 available this next grant cycle. All non-residential Pacific Power customers in Oregon are eligible to apply with preference given to community-focused organizations, such as 501(c)(3) and city, county and regional governments. Applications will be accepted up to Feb. 15, 2019 at 5:00 PM. Recipients will be announced March 2019. Examples of projects eligible for grants include, but are not limited to:    Businesses of all sizes installing chargers as an amenity for customers and employees. Multi-unit housing owners installing chargers for tenants, either in support of tenant-owned electric cars or in conjunction with offering electric cars for tenant use. Chargers for community car sharing programs to improve access and charging to electric cars in underserved communities. For detailed eligibility requirements, project qualifications and application forms, please visit pacificpower.net/ev-grants. Materials may be submitted to plugin@pacificpower.net. To learn more about the benefits of electric vehicles, visit pacificpower.net/ev.