Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, along with Tim McCabe, director of the state’s Business Development Program, have accepted the Electric Drive Transportation Association’s (EDTA) E-Visionary Award honoring the state for its leadership in transitioning towards a future of electrified transportation. The award recognizes Oregon’s massive commitment to develop a statewide network of charging stations and to establish an incentive program that promotes a rapid adoption of electric vehicles.
Oregon is the first state to ever capture the E-Visionary Award and Brian Wynne, president of the EDTA, believes that it’s a title rightly earned, remarking:
We cannot think of a more deserving recipient for this honor. Oregon has made incredible strides toward the realization of sustainable mobility, and on an unprecedented scale. Their comprehensive model of electric drive implementation sets an example to be emulated across our nation and around the world.
Congrats, Oregon. Now, who’s next?
[Source: EDTA]
PRESS RELEASE
Oregon Receives E-Visionary Award
SALEM — Today Governor Ted Kulongoski announced that the State of Oregon has been selected to receive the E-Visionary Award from the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) for the state’s leadership in transitioning to an electrified transportation system.
The award recognizes Oregon’s success in building the necessary infrastructure such as a network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations as well as establishing incentives to support practicable and widespread use of EVs in the near future.
“We cannot think of a more deserving recipient for this honor. Oregon has made incredible strides toward the realization of sustainable mobility, and on an unprecedented scale,” said Brian Wynne, President of EDTA. “Their comprehensive model of electric drive implementation sets an example to be emulated across our nation and around the world.”
Oregon is the first U.S. state to ever receive the industry award. The award will be presented November 9th, at the 2010 Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exposition in Shenzhen, China. Tim McCabe, Director of the Oregon Business Development Department, will accept the award on behalf of the Governor.
“Three years ago, I saw an opportunity for Oregon to be a national leader for our nation both as a point of entry and as consumers for the next generation of electric vehicles,” said Governor Ted Kulongoski. “This international award recognizes our work to take that vision and put a plan in place that has established Oregon as a global leader in developing an electrified transportation system that moves us away from fossil-fueled vehicles to zero-emission ones while also creating economic opportunities for our ports, our manufacturing sector and our communities.”
Oregon’s recognition comes after 12 months of significant progress in establishing the infrastructure to support an EV market as well as a point of entry in the United States for this new, next generation of commuter vehicles.
Some of Oregon’s progress includes:
• Oregon was selected as one of the initial five markets for The EV Project, funded by the Recovery Act, is the largest deployment of EVs and charging stations in the nation. In that project, ECOtality will partner with Nissan to deploy approximately 900 electric vehicles (the Nissan LEAF) to Oregon.
•The EV Project will also deploy 1,100 public Level 2 charging stations in Portland, Eugene/Springfield, Salem/Keizer, Corvallis/Albany, and Medford/Ashland. The EV Project will also deploy 45 fast charge stations along I-5 between communities to ensure corridor connectivity between these urban areas. The “Level 2” chargers should start appearing in Western Oregon in the spring of 2011.
• Oregon established a state incentive of $1,500 to help offset the initial cost of the new-generation EVs coming to market that is applied on top of the federal incentive for EVs. The state also has incentives for the installation of charging stations.
ODOT has been awarded $700,000 in Recovery Act funds to install up to eight EV fast charge stations, which can charge a depleted battery in about half an hour, along Interstate 5 from Eugene south to Ashland. The funds, awarded through the Oregon Department of Energy, will complement the current deployment of EV fast-charging infrastructure along I-5 from the Portland Metro area down to Eugene.
In October 2010, ODOT was awarded $2 million through a federal competitive grant program called TIGER II to install DC fast charge stations. These fast charge stations will be deployed in communities throughout northwest Oregon, including small cities throughout the region as well as communities on major travel corridors and key destinations
, including US 26, I-84, US 20, OR 18, OR 99W, and US 101. This project also complements the installation of charging
“There is great momentum in Oregon and throughout the Pacific Northwest to lead our nation toward energy independence through the aggressive development of renewable energy as well as the adoption of electric vehicles,” the Governor continued. “With the partnership of our utilities, Oregon made our mark early and it attracted new economic opportunity through private investments. This international award strengthens our position as a leader and I believe will lead to even greater economic opportunity in this emerging industry well into the future.”
The E-Visionary Award will also be presented by the European Association for Battery, Hybrid and Fuel cell Electric Vehicles (AVERE) to the City of Amsterdam, The Netherlands and by the Electric Vehicle Association of Asia Pacific (EVAAP) to the City of Shenzhen, China.
