Tualatin, together with Tigard and a coalition of 15 other Northwest Oregon cities, collectively received $15 million in federal grant funding last month to install hundreds of new electric vehicle chargers across the region.
The Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) grant, distributed through the U.S. Department of Transportation, is part of a U.S. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to place more EV charging stations and fund alternative-fueling infrastructure programs nationwide.
Tigard and Tualatin officials touted the coming EV charging stations – about 500 will be spread across 125 unique sites – as a significant step toward reaching their city sustainability goals.
“This collaborative effort demonstrates our shared commitment to creating a cleaner, more sustainable future for our communities,” said Tigard Mayor Heidi Lueb in a written statement. “With this funding, we can expand our electric vehicle charging infrastructure, making EVs more accessible for everyone and driving forward our climate and equity goals.”
Likewise, Tualatin Mayor Frank Bubenik said, “This project will make tremendous headway towards achieving our climate action goals in an equitable way.”
Tualatin partnered with PGE and Forth Mobility, a Portland-area nonprofit centered on expanding EV charging access, to captain the application process with input from Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Representatives Suzanne Bonimici and Andrea Salinas.
The coalition received CFI’s highest monetary award.
“Fifteen million is the most that you can win in this grant, so we’re getting the same amount of money as Minneapolis. If you look at the list of grant recipients, the cities, it’s pretty impressive that (we are on) there,” said Tualatin City Councilor Bridget Brooks.
Brooks and Bubenik discovered the opportunity during the Congressional City Conference earlier this year and recommended Tualatin pursue it. The city then spearheaded the effort.
“The scope of our grant application includes 500 Level 2 chargers across all the partner cities at low and moderate-income multifamily locations and public facilities like parks and libraries,” said Tualatin Public Works director Rachel Sykes. “The key is that they are publicly accessible. This also includes education and outreach events to help folks get familiar with EVs, to aid in the adoption of EVs. I think some people have some fear the EV is going to run out of charge.”
CFI aims to expand infrastructure nationally into public spaces and multifamily housing developments to create access for low- and moderate-income households less likely to have charging access at home.
“Current charging gaps in this region mean that the people who can most benefit from the cost savings of driving electric are unable to do so because their neighborhoods lack the infrastructure to support EV driving,” Tualatin city officials said in a statement. “By bringing charging infrastructure to low and moderate-income residents, whose limited access to charging often prevents them from driving electric; we help avoid a regional “charging divide” that prevents historically underserved communities from accessing EVs.”
Members of the 17-city consortium are collectively contributing an additional $3 million plus, bringing the total project budget to more than $18. In addition to building the new network of advanced capability Level 2 charging stations, funds will go to bolstering visibility with community outreach programming.
The cities will collaborate on mapping charging sites with Tualatin at the helm handling project management and finances.
“One of the nice things about this grant is it also comes with funding for a limited duration project management position that can help implement and coordinate with the 16 partner agencies,” Sykes said.
While every jurisdiction will receive chargers, the bulk will land in Tualatin.
“One of the questions we’ve been receiving from our partner cities is how many chargers are we going to get,” Sykes told members of the Tualatin City Council.
The yet-to-be-determined answer will depend on installation costs, but she added “We want to make sure Tualatin receives a good lion’s share of charges because we took the lead in the application. We put in the legwork. So, while we will be sharing the love with our partner cities, we want to make sure that Tualatin does get a good number of chargers.”
