Skip to main content

Another section of West Coast Green Highway EV charging infrastructure announced

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has selected AeroVironment to manufacture, supply, install and operate a network of nine fast-charging stations for electric vehicles on Interstate 5 and US 2. Stations will be located every 40 to 60 miles along stretches of I-5 between the Canadian border and Everett and between Olympia and the Oregon border, as well as along US 2 between Everett and Leavenworth.
April 19, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSThe 451 Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has selected 2132 AeroVironment to manufacture, supply, install and operate a network of nine fast-charging stations for electric vehicles on Interstate 5 and US 2. Stations will be located every 40 to 60 miles along stretches of I-5 between the Canadian border and Everett and between Olympia and the Oregon border, as well as along US 2 between Everett and Leavenworth.

“A network of charging stations linking Washington to Oregon and Canada will make electric vehicles more attractive to consumers and businesses, and transportation better for the environment,” said Paula Hammond, Washington secretary of transportation.

The fast-charging stations will be operational by the end of November and will power an electric vehicle from zero to fully charged in less than 30 minutes. Each station also will include a Level 2 “medium-speed” charging station, which will cost less for users and take up to four to six hours for a full charge. The stations will be located at private retail locations such as shopping malls, fuelling stations and travel centres with easy access to the highway.

In the area between Everett and Olympia, additional charging stations will be installed through a federal programme, The EV Project, administrated by the US Department of Energy. Combined, the two projects will connect Washington drivers along the entire 450kms of I-5 between Canada and Oregon.

While AeroVironment helps power the electric-vehicle charging network in Washington, the company will simultaneously electrify I-5 in Oregon through a similar project managed by the Oregon Department of Transportation. Both states’ projects will complement The EV Project, which will install thousands of home and public electric-vehicle charging stations in six states, including Washington, Oregon and California.

Washington’s electric-highway infrastructure is a key component of a future West Coast Green Highway. When complete, it will extend a seamless network of recharging stations along all 2,200 kms of I-5 from Canada to Mexico, serving more than two million electric vehicles that market analysts say will be sold in Washington, Oregon and California in the next decade.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Personal Rapid Transit, clear benefits for European cities
    July 26, 2012
    David Crawford watches the race to get the world's first PRT system up and running. To paraphrase the old joke about buses bunching, you seem to have to wait several decades for a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, and then half a dozen come along together. Currently, in fact, there are well over that number of schemes for driverless electric passenger-carrying 'pod' networks at various stages of planning, design and implementation around the world. Locations range from a straight-off-the-drawing board ne
  • Infrastructure funding and road user charging – debate continues
    February 1, 2012
    Jack Opiola provides an overview of the ongoing debate over US infrastructure funding and the progress – or lack of it – towards vehicles miles travelled road user charging. The future funding of transportation and mobility infrastructure is attracting increased attention. There has been sharp debate in the US, where landmark reports from the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission and the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission both stated that the cu
  • NY to get EV charging stations
    April 16, 2013
    As part of an initiative to create 3,000 public and workplace stations over the next five years and to put 40,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road in the state, New York is to have more than 360 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations installed throughout the state to help reduce fossil fuel use. Announcing the project, Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “Building this network of innovative charging stations will encourage New Yorkers to use fuel-efficient alternatives like electric vehicles as well as grow the
  • Huber+Suhner showcase EV charging technology
    March 23, 2017
    International manufacturer of components and systems for optical and electrical connectivity, Huber+Suhner, will showcase its automotive solutions at the Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo Europe in Sindelfingen, Stuttgart, 4-6 April. One of the highlights will be its cooled charging cable for high-power charging stations, which is able to multiply the power-throughput of a charging cable and reduce charging times to below 20 minutes, putting fast charging within reach, even with big battery packs