Plan To Launch Nation's First Electric Highway

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Washington State's electric vehicle infrastructure efforts are getting a boost from $1.32 million in Federal Recovery Act funding, according to Gov. Chris Gregoire.

Washington State's transportation and commerce departments are teaming up to implement the nation's first "electric highway," an initial network of public access electric vehicle (EV) recharging locations along Interstate 5. Once implemented, Washington will have the first border to border highway to offer fast charge technology.

"Washington state is a leader in creating green jobs, adopting new clean technologies, and we are poised to do it again with electric vehicles," said Gregoire. "Providing the nation's first true electrified highway (I-5) will benefit Washingtonians and show the rest of the country how we can use innovative partnerships to solve some of our most difficult challenges like climate change and our dependence on oil."

The electric highway will support plug-in electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus and Chevy Volt soon rolling off the assembly lines. The infrastructure will enable electric vehicle drivers to travel the length of the state along the 276 miles of I-5 between Washington's borders with Oregon and Canada. As many as 300,000 electric vehicles are anticipated on Washington roads during in the next 10 years.

Funding is provided by the Department of Commerce with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars being administered through the State Energy Program. This project meets State Energy Program and Recovery Act funding goals to save energy, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, invest in transportation, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits.

Washington's "electric highway" connects Puget Sound electric vehicle drivers with Portland and other west coast communities participating in the EV Project, a $230 million project to deploy a total of 4,700 electric vehicles and nearly 15,000 charge stations in 5 states (Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona, and Tennessee) and the District of Columbia. The state will partner with private companies to install fast charging infrastructure in critical charging zones in unserved locations along major interstates. The first charging sites will be placed along I-5 north of Everett and south of Centralia. The work on I-5 will be complemented with deployments along I-90 to include Central Washington.

This "electric highway" project supports the state's efforts on the West Coast Green Highway, a tri-state initiative to promote the use of cleaner fuels along the 1,350 miles of I-5 from British Columbia to Baja, Calif. Washington's network of electric vehicle charging infrastructure could jump start he development of a regional EV network spreading across the entire length of I-5 connecting three states and three countries and serving the 2 million electric vehicles anticipated on the west coast. In February, Gov. Gregoire signed an action plan with leaders from Oregon, California and British Columbia to establish I-5 as a green highway by building infrastructure for alternative fuels and electric vehicle charging.