EV charging infrastructure deployment plans are in the works for Interstates 5 and 84 after the Oregon Department of Transportation secured grant funding from two federal programs for planning, design and installation work at the stations.

During a webinar on Wednesday, ODOT gave an overview of its plans for the public fleet EV charging stations on both highways.

The Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program is a discretionary grant program that was created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Its main purpose is to fund alternative fuel infrastructure projects along major highways and interstates throughout the state and communities, with a special focus on medium and heavy-duty infrastructure, said Brett Howell, ODOT’s transportation electrification coordinator.

In 2023, ODOT, the California Department of Transportation and the Washington State Department of Transportation applied for the program. In August 2024, the three states – California, Washington and Oregon – were selected for an award in round 1B of the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program. The total award was roughly $102 million to support the development of medium and heavy-duty focused charging infrastructure, as well as a limited number of hydrogen refueling stations along Interstate 5 in all three states and a few additional corridors in California, Howell said.

Oregon received about $21.1 million to develop two medium and heavy-duty charging stations, and one hydrogen refueling station, all to be located along the I-5 corridor.

Howell said the funding for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program is subject to a 20 percent minimum match requirement. ODOT intends to issue a notice of funding opportunity application sometime next fall.

The Carbon Reduction Program provides money to reduce carbon emissions. Oregon received $4.5 million for installation of an EV charging station along I-84, likely between Portland and The Dalles, Howell said.

For the Carbon Reduction Program, there is a funding match of 10.27 percent. ODOT plans to issue a funding opportunity application for in the spring or summer.

The webinar also addressed a new provision for a program through the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Oregon DEQ‘s Clean Fuels Program is providing financial incentives for public fleets and their contractors through advance crediting. The financial incentives allow fleets to get an up-front loan of Clean Fuels Program credits when they put a new medium- or heavy- duty electric vehicle into service.

Courtney Herbolsheimer, of Oregon DEQ, said the program, which began in 2016, is a market-based program that reduces the overall carbon intensity of transportation fuels used in Oregon.

“Each type of fuel is assigned a carbon intensity value or level of carbon emissions,” Herbolsheimer said. “Over time, each year, DEQ gradually lowers the amount of carbon intensity average that’s allowed in fuel to meet our annual reduction goals.”

Lower carbon fuels will generate credits, while higher carbon fuels will generate deficits. An entity reports on a quarterly basis the number of kilowatt hours of electricity that are dispensed from its chargers each quarter.

With this new provision – advance crediting – DEQ is able to grant up to six years of credits to an entity up front. Those credits would be received when the vehicle is put into service, Herbolsheimer said.

The program will have one application period per year and will launch in early to mid-2026. Advance credits will apply only to vehicles when they are first put into service. Applicants must remain the owner of the vehicle until they have paid back the advance credits. Oregon DEQ will determine if an application meets the requirements. After an agreement is made, DEQ will issue advance credits.

The entity would pay back those credits over a period spanning at least one year and no later than three years after receiving the credits. Once the credits are repaid, they can go back to the regular program.

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The Portland City Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to authorize up to $41 million in revenue bonds to pay for construction of a new CityFleet maintenance facility, plus an additional $1.9 million for estimated financing and bond issuance costs.

The project will include a garage, an office, a parts area, electric vehicle charging stations and other related infrastructure. The total cost estimate is $57 million. Other funding includes approximately $14.6 million of Portland Clean Energy Fund grant money and approximately $2 million of fleet division cash resources.

The bond issuance process typically takes about 12 weeks, with a sale anticipated in March 2026 and closing in April 2026, according to a staff report by the city’s finance committee. Repayment is planned over 20 years at 5 percent interest.

The new facility’s annual costs, including debt service and operations/maintenance, will be approximately $7 million from 2026 through 2046. Costs will be covered through rates included in interagency agreements, which are paid by bureaus based on their expected use of project amenities, the ordinance states.

CityFleet has the largest municipal fleet in the state. A “path to net zero” calls for the fleet’s carbon emissions to drop to zero by 2050. To support this goal, CityFleet must have a primary maintenance garage able to handle electrical needs in terms of both capacity and efficiency. CityFleet’s existing facility, Kerby Garage, at 2929 N. Kerby Ave., is unable to support an electrification transition because of its outdated electrical system, small size and inefficient physical layout. Kerby Garage has a leaking roof, inadequate electrical and fire safety protection, and no capacity for EV expansion. Plus, it isn’t compliant with modern seismic and energy codes. The city estimates that even after a renovation that could cost $43 million, the building would fail to meet modern operational and safety standards, according to the city’s Bureau of Fleet and Facilities.

The new maintenance facility – to be called the Cutter Garage – will be at property on Swan Island, at 6800 N. Cutter Circle. The Cutter Garage will be operated under a 23-year lease, with options for two 10-year lease extensions. The facility is owned by Elm Realty Partners.

The Cutter Garage will be able to serve more than 2,400 vehicles used by more than a dozen city bureaus, accommodate the city’s growing electric vehicle fleet, and provide safe working conditions for 50 vehicle and equipment mechanics. Features will include safe and modern workspaces, multiple bays per worker, and a modern electrical system and EV charging infrastructure. The project team plans to seek a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver rating for the building.

The project team includes architect LRS Architects and construction manager/general contractor JE Dunn Construction.

The project is expected to enter the bidding phase in late November, with subcontractor selections and guaranteed maximum price recommendations targeted for mid-January, according to city spokesperson Alison Perkins.

The city expects permitting to take place in March 2026, and then construction to start the following month. The project is scheduled to be completed by spring 2027.

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By CLAIRE RUSH
Associated Press

Oregon could become the second U.S. state to require electric vehicle owners to enroll in a pay-per-mile program as lawmakers began a special session Friday to fill a $300 million transportation budget hole that threatens basic services like snowplowing and road repairs.

However, the special session got off to a rocky start: The state Senate met as scheduled at 9 a.m., but the state House failed to reach the two-thirds quorum required to conduct business, leaving the session in limbo as of late Friday afternoon.

Legislators failed earlier this year to approve a transportation funding package. Hundreds of state workers’ jobs are at risk, and the proposal for a road usage charge for EV drivers was left on the table.

Hawaii in 2023 was the first state to create a mandatory road usage charge program to make up for projected decreases in fuel tax revenue due to the growing number of electric, hybrid and fuel-efficient cars. Many other states have studied the concept, and Oregon, Utah and Virginia have voluntary programs.

The concept has promise as a long-term funding solution, experts say. Others worry about privacy concerns and discouraging people from buying EVs, which can help reduce transportation emissions.

“This is a pretty major change,” said Liz Farmer, an analyst for The Pew Charitable Trusts’ state fiscal policy team, noting “the challenge in enacting something that’s dramatically different for most drivers.”

Oregon’s transportation woes

Oregon’s transportation department says the budget shortfall stems from inflation, projected declines in gas tax revenue and other spending limits. Over the summer, it sent layoff notices to nearly 500 workers and announced plans to close a dozen road maintenance stations.

Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek paused those moves and called the special session to find a solution. Republican lawmakers say the department mismanaging its money is a main issue.

Kotek’s proposal includes an EV road usage charge that is equivalent to 5 percent of the state’s gas tax. It also includes raising the gas tax by 6 cents to 46 cents per gallon, among other fee increases.

The usage charge would phase in starting in 2027 for certain EVs and expand to include hybrids in 2028. Should the gas tax increase be approved, EV drivers either would pay about 2.3 cents per mile, or choose an annual flat fee of $340. Drivers in the program wouldn’t have to pay supplemental registration fees.

Drivers would have several options for reporting mileage to private contractors, including a smartphone app or the vehicle’s telematics technology, said Scott Boardman, policy adviser for the transportation department who works on the state’s decade-old voluntary road usage charge program.

Republican lawmakers, who have opposed the tax and fee increases, unveiled a different proposal Friday that largely focuses on lifting funding restrictions to allow the transportation department to spend more money on maintenance operations, including by redirecting dollars earmarked for public transit and efforts to combat climate change toward such operations. It does not include a road usage charge.

As of May, there were over 84,000 EVs registered in Oregon, about 2 percent of the state’s total vehicles, he said.

Questions about privacy and fairness

In past surveys commissioned by Oregon’s transportation department, respondents cited privacy, GPS devices and data security as concerns about road usage charges.

Oregon’s voluntary program has sought to respond to such concerns by deleting mileage data 30 days after a payment is received, Boardman said. While plug-in GPS devices are an option in the program, transportation officials anticipate moving away from them because they’re more expensive and can be removed, he added.

Still, not everyone has embraced a road usage charge. Arizona voters will decide next year whether to ban state and local governments from implementing a tax or fee based on miles traveled after the measure was referred to the ballot by the Republican-majority Legislature.

Many people don’t realize that “both your vehicle and your cellphone capture immense amounts of data about your personal driving habits already,” said Brett Morgan, Oregon transportation policy director for the nonprofit Climate Solutions.

Morgan added that road usage charges exceeding what drivers of internal combustion engines would pay in gas taxes could dissuade people from buying electric and hybrid cars. Already, federal tax incentives for EVs are set to expire under the tax and spending cut bill recently passed by the GOP-controlled Congress.

“We are definitely supportive of a road usage charge that has EVs paying their fair share, but they should not be paying extra or a penalty,” Morgan said.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The multitrillion-dollar tax breaks package passed by House Republicans early Thursday would gut clean energy tax credits that Democrats approved three years ago while supporting increased mining, drilling and other traditional energy production.

A marathon session that began Wednesday resulted in 1,100-plus page legislation that curbs billions of dollars in spending across food assistance, student loans, Medicaid and action to address climate change.

The bill, which now heads to the Senate, repeals or phases out more quickly clean energy tax credits passed in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act during former President Joe Biden’s term. Biden’s climate law has been considered monumental for the clean energy transition, but the House bill effectively renders moot much of the law’s incentives for renewable energy such as wind and solar power.

Clean energy advocates said the bill walks back the largest government investment in clean energy in history.

“In a bid to cut taxes for billionaires and provide a grab bag of goodies to Big Oil, the majority in the House took a sledgehammer to clean energy tax credits and to the protection of our public lands,” said Christy Goldfuss, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“These credits are delivering billions of dollars in new investments in homegrown American energy — creating jobs, lowering energy costs and addressing the climate crisis that is fueling floods, fires and heat waves,” Goldfuss said.

President Donald Trump celebrated the bill’s passage, calling it “arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country.” Trump appealed to the Senate to pass the measure as soon as possible and send it to his desk.

The Senate hopes to wrap up its version by early July. At least four Republican senators, led by Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have urged continuation of energy tax credits, including support for traditional and renewable energy sources. Republican-led states and Congressional districts have benefited from billions of dollars in clean energy manufacturing investments spurred by the Biden-era subsidies.

Full-scale repeal of current credits “could lead to significant disruptions for the American people and weaken our position as a global energy leader,” the senators said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

“A wholesale repeal, or the termination of certain individual credits, would create uncertainty, jeopardizing … job creation in the energy sector and across our broader economy,” the senators wrote in the April 9 letter. The letter was also signed by GOP Sens. John Curtis of Utah, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Jerry Moran of Kansas.

In a win for House moderates and some Western lawmakers, the House bill strips language that would have allowed the sale of hundreds of thousands acres of public lands in Utah and Nevada. Opponents argued the sales would have opened the door for more oil and gas drilling.

What was gutted in the bill

The House bill takes an axe to tax credits for rooftop solar installments and eliminates electric vehicle tax credits after 2025, with a one-year exception for EVs manufactured by automakers that have sold fewer than 200,000 cars that qualified for the credit.

Credits for solar and electric vehicles, which reduce harmful emissions, help to boost demand for the technologies and drive down their cost.

House Republicans also tightened tax credit restrictions for projects associated with foreign entities, including China — an added blow to domestic clean energy expansion since China dominates much of the supply chain.

The bill slashes a three-year phase-down schedule previously proposed, and instead cuts off projects that don’t start construction within 60 days of the bill’s passage. Those projects would also have to start operating before 2029.

“This bill threatens the clean energy industry at a time when it’s proving to be not only economically beneficial — lowering costs, creating jobs and fueling local economies — but also essential to America’s energy future,” said Andrew Reagan, president of Clean Energy for America, an industry group.

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil and gas industry, applauded the bill as a step to “restore American energy dominance.”

“By preserving competitive tax policies, opening lease sales” for oil and gas drilling and advancing permitting reforms, the legislation “is a win for our nation’s energy future,” API President Mike Sommers said in a statement.

No sale of public lands

At the behest of Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke and some other Republicans, lawmakers stripped a provision that would have sold or transferred about 460,000 acres of federal land in Nevada and Utah to local governments or private entities.

The proposal exposed sharp divisions between Western Republicans who say the federal government controls too much of their states and others such as Zinke, a former Interior secretary in Trump’s first term whose state is protective of access to lands for hunting and recreation.

“At the heart of the matter is that public land that’s in the federal estate belongs to everybody,” Zinke told The Associated Press on Thursday. “To suggest that you’re going to sell land to pay off the debt, I think that’s misguided and, quite frankly, disingenuous.”

The land sales had been inserted in the bill following a late-night committee vote, despite earlier pledges from Republican leaders that the sales were off the table.

Supporters said they would generate revenue and ease growth pressures by creating room for more and cheaper housing in booming Western cities such as Las Vegas, Reno, Nevada, and St. George, Utah. Those communities are hemmed in by federal property, which makes up 80 percent of the land in Nevada and 63 percent in Utah.

A spokesperson for Nevada Republican Rep. Mark Amodei, who sponsored the bid to sell federal lands in his state, said his office was “exploring all options” to make the transfers happen.

Housing advocates had cautioned federal land is not universally suitable for affordable housing, and some of the parcels to be sold were far from developed areas.

Tracy Stone-Manning, president of the Wilderness Society and a former director of the Bureau of Land Management under Biden, said she appreciated Zinke’s work to prevent the public lands sale.

But she said the bill was still a “big giveaway” to the private sector. “By opening hundreds of millions of acres to drilling, mining and logging to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy, this bill harms the tens of millions of people who like to hike, recreate or find solace in the outdoors,” she said.

Trump targets Biden’s climate policy

At the same time the bill slashes support for clean energy, it paves the way for oil, gas and coal.

Through the bill, natural gas pipeline developers can pay a $10 million fee for expedited permitting, and applicants for a potential liquefied natural gas export site can pay a $1 million fee to be deemed in the “public interest,” circumventing what is usually a regulatory challenge.

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The city of Portland is considering code amendments that would create regulations and standards for electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure in accordance with the Electric Vehicle Ready Code Project recommended draft. Portland City Council will vote Feb. 8 whether to amend the city’s planning and zoning code.

Development of the EV Ready Code Project involved a year of engagement with bureaus, community organizations, utilities and others. It would require developments with five or more dwelling units, when including parking spaces, to provide EV-ready infrastructure for 100 percent of parking spaces when six or fewer spaces are provided, or 50 percent of parking spaces when more than six spaces are provided.

The proposal would clarify land use requirements and standards for installation of EV-ready infrastructure in new developments. These standards would provide guidance for voluntary EV infrastructure installations within existing parking areas.

Last year, the state of Oregon implemented a baseline requiring 20 percent of new commercial development parking spaces and 40 percent of new multifamily and mixed-use development parking spaces to include EV-ready infrastructure. Portland’s proposal would surpass that baseline, but that would be allowed by the state.

The proposed ordinance would be in accordance with other ordinances the city has adopted, as well as state mandates, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability Chief Planner Patricia Diefenderfer stated during a City Council meeting on Jan. 25.

The cost estimate for an EV-ready space is $800 to $2,500, according to a BPS study.

The EV Ready Code Project addresses the needs of multifamily building residents who cannot easily install EV charging infrastructure at their home.

“There is a risk of leaving people of color and low-income individuals behind in the transition to electric vehicles,” said Ingrid Fish, who works on transportation decarbonization policy for the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

The city is engaged in other efforts to support affordable and convenient access to EV charging in Portland, including the possibility of adding infrastructure in the public right-of-way. The Portland Bureau of Transportation will discuss that at a later council meeting.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Policymakers for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality have approved a rule that prohibits the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger vehicles in Oregon by 2035.

The effort comes as Oregon plans to cut climate-warming emissions by 50% by 2035 and by 90% by 2050, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. The transportation sector accounts for nearly 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon.

The rule is based on vehicle emission standards California adopted in August. The standards require car manufacturers to sell a certain percentage of zero-emission vehicles — electric cars, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles — as part of their total sales, starting with 35% in 2026 and increasing to 100% by 2035.

The rule allows for hybrid vehicle sales, which run primarily on electricity but can run on gas. The rule does not affect cars already on the road and used gas-powered cars will continue to be available for sale within the state.

The new rule also requires manufacturers to increase access to affordable zero-emission vehicles to low-income households and communities of color. It offers incentives to manufacturers to sell electric cars to community car share programs, to produce lower-cost zero-emission cars and to direct used electric cars to dealerships participating in low-income assistance programs.

The new requirements will help Oregon meet its goals, adopted by the Legislature in 2019, of at least 90% of new vehicles sold annually to be zero emission by 2035. Those goals came without consequences, while the newly adopted rule includes penalties to manufacturers for non-compliance.

“By creating a regulatory certainty for manufacturers, EV charging providers and utilities, it sets a clear path forward for the future of zero-emission passenger cars and trucks in Oregon,” said Rachel Sakata, senior air quality planner at the Department of Environmental Quality.

The Environmental Quality Commission received over 700 comments on the rule with 500 in support, Sakata said.

Oregonians who spoke out against the rule during the public comment period cited the expense of electric cars and lack of charging stations.

Environmental Quality Commissioner Greg Addington, who voted against the rule adoption, acknowledged many Oregonians, especially in rural areas, do not support the rule and do not have access to electric vehicle charging.

“There are a lot of people in the state who don’t get where this is going,” Addington said.

Sakata said the new standard will expand the market for new and used zero emission vehicles and bring down prices. She also said the upfront costs are offset by decreased operations and maintenance costs.

Oregon has over 2,000 public and private electric vehicle chargers across the state, with more being built.

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By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Stephanie Terrell bought a used Nissan Leaf this fall and was excited to join the wave of drivers adopting electric vehicles to save on gas money and reduce her carbon footprint.

But Terrell quickly encountered a bump in the road on her journey to clean driving: As a renter, she doesn’t have a private garage where she can power up overnight, and the public charging stations near her are often in use, with long wait times. On a recent day, the 23-year-old nearly ran out of power on the freeway because a public charging station she was counting on was busy.

“It was really scary and I was really worried I wasn’t going to make it, but luckily I made it here. Now I have to wait a couple hours to even use it because I can’t go any further,” she said while waiting at another station where a half-dozen EV drivers circled the parking lot, waiting their turn. “I feel better about it than buying gas, but there are problems I didn’t really anticipate.”

The great transition to electric vehicles is underway for single-family homeowners who can charge their cars at home, but for millions of renters like Terrell, access to charging remains a significant barrier. People who rent are also more likely to buy used EVs that have a lower range than the latest models, making reliable public charging even more critical for them.

Now, cities from Portland to Los Angeles to New York City are trying to come up with innovative public charging solutions as drivers string power cords across sidewalks, stand up their own private charging stations on city right-of-ways and line up at public facilities.

The Biden administration last month approved plans from all 50 states to roll out a network of high-speed chargers along interstate highways coast-to-coast using $5 billion in federal funding over the next five years. But states must wait to apply for an additional $2.5 billion in local grants to fill in charging gaps, including in low- and moderate-income areas of cities and in neighborhoods with limited private parking.

“We have a really large challenge right now with making it easy for people to charge who live in apartments,” said Jeff Allen, executive director of Forth, a nonprofit that advocates for equity in electric vehicle ownership and charging access.

“There’s a mental shift that cities have to make to understand that promoting electric cars is also part of their sustainable transportation strategy. Once they make that mental shift, there’s a whole bunch of very tangible things they can — and should — be doing.”

The quickest place to charge is a fast charger, also known as DC Fast. Those charge a car in 20 to 45 minutes. But slower chargers which take several hours, known as Level 2, still outnumber DC fast chargers by nearly four to one, although their numbers are growing. Charging an electric vehicle on a standard residential outlet, or Level 1 charger, isn’t practical unless you drive little or can leave the car plugged in overnight, as many homeowners can.

Nationwide, there are about 120,000 public charging ports featuring Level 2 charging or above, and nearly 1.5 million electric vehicles registered in the U.S. — a ratio of just over one charging port per 12 cars nationally, according to the latest U.S. Department of Energy data from December 2021. But those chargers are not spread out evenly: In Arizona, for example, the ratio of electric vehicles to charging ports is 18 to one and in California, which has about 39 percent of the nation’s EVs, there are 16 zero-emissions vehicles for every charging port.

A briefing prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy last year by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory forecasts a total of just under 19 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, with a projected need for an extra 9.6 million charging stations to meet that demand.

In Los Angeles, for example, nearly one-quarter of all new vehicles registered in July were plug-in electric vehicles. The city estimates in the next 20 years, it will have to expand its distribution capacity anywhere from 25 percent to 50 percent, with roughly two-thirds of the new power demand coming from electric vehicles, said Yamen Nanne, manager of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s transportation electrification program.

Amid the boom, dense city neighborhoods are rapidly becoming pressure points in the patchy transition to electrification.

In Los Angeles, the city has installed over 500 electric vehicle chargers — 450 on street lights and about 50 of them on power poles — to meet the demand and has a goal of adding 200 EV pole chargers per year, Nanne said. The chargers are strategically installed in areas where there are apartment complexes or near amenities, he said.

The city currently has 18,000 commercial chargers — ones not in private homes — but only about 3,000 are publicly accessible and just 400 of those are DC Fast chargers, Nanne said.

Demand is so high that “when we put a charger out there that’s publicly accessible, we don’t even have to advertise. People just see it and start using it,” he said.

“We’re doing really good in terms of chargers that are going into workplaces but the publicly accessible ones is where there’s a lot of room to make up. Every city is struggling with that.”
Similar initiatives to install pole-mounted chargers are in place or being considered in cities from New York City to Charlotte, N.C. to Kansas City, Missouri. The utility Seattle City Light is also in the early stages of a pilot project to install chargers in neighborhoods where people can’t charge at home.

Mark Long, who lives in a floating home on Seattle’s Portage Bay, has leased or owned an EV since 2015 and charges at public stations — and sometimes charges on an outdoor outlet at a nearby office and pays them back for the cost.

“We have a small loading area but we all just park on the street,” said Long, who hopes to get one of the utility’s chargers installed for his floating community. “I’ve certainly been in a few situations where I’m down to 15, 14, 12 miles and … whatever I had planned, I’m just suddenly focused on getting a charge.”

Other cities, like Portland, are working to amend building codes for new construction to require electrified parking spaces for new apartment complexes and mixed-use development. A proposal being developed currently would require 50 percent of parking spaces in most new multi-family dwellings to have an electric conduit that could support future charging stations. In complexes with six spaces or fewer, all parking spaces would need to be pre-wired for EV charging.

Policies that provide equal access to charging are critical because with tax incentives and the emergence of a robust used-EV market, zero-emissions cars are finally within financial reach for lower-income drivers, said Ingrid Fish, who is in charge of Portland’s transportation decarbonization program.

“We’re hoping if we do our job right, these vehicles are going to become more and more accessible and affordable for people, especially those that have been pushed out of the central city” by rising rents and don’t have easy access to public transportation, Fish said.

The initiatives mimic those that have already been deployed in other nations that are much further along in EV adoption.

Worldwide, by 2030, more than 6 million public chargers will be needed to support EV adoption at a rate that keeps international emissions goals within reach, according to a recent study by the International Council on Clean Transportation. As of this year, the Netherlands and Norway have already installed enough public charging to satisfy 45 percent and 38 percent of that demand, respectively, while the U.S. has less than 10 percent of it in place currently, according to the study, which looked at electrification in 17 nations and government entities that account for more than half of the world’s car sales.

Some European cities are far ahead of even the most electric-savvy U.S. cities. London, for example, has 4,000 public chargers on street lights. That’s much cheaper — just a third the cost of wiring a charging station into the sidewalk, said Vishant Kothari, manager of the electric mobility team at the World Resources Institute.

But London and Los Angeles have an advantage over many U.S. cities: Their street lights operate on 240 volts, better for EV charging. Most American city street lights operate on 120 volts, which takes hours to charge a vehicle, said Kothari, who co-authored a study on the potential for pole-mounted charging in U.S. cities.

That means cities considering pole-mounted charging must also come up with other solutions, from zoning changes to making charging accessible in apartment complex parking lots to policies that encourage workplace fast-charging.

There also “needs to be a will from the city, the utilities — the policies need to be in place for curbside accessibility,” he said. “So there is quite a bit of complication.”

Changes can’t come fast enough for renters who already own electric vehicles and are struggling to charge them.

Rebecca DeWhitt rents a house but isn’t allowed to use the garage. For several years, she and her partner strung a standard extension cord 40 feet from an outlet near the home’s front door, across their lawn, down a grassy knoll and across a public sidewalk to reach their Nissan Leaf on the street.

They upgraded to a thicker extension cord and began parking in the driveway — also a violation of their rental contract — when their first cord charred under the EV load. They’re still using their home outlet and it takes up to two days to fully charge their new Hyundai Kona. As of now, their best alternative for a full charge is a nearby grocery store which can mean a long wait for one of two fast-charging stations to open up.

“It’s inconvenient,” she said. “And if we didn’t value having an electric vehicle so much, we wouldn’t put up with the pain of it.”

Associated Press Climate Data Reporter Camille Fassett in Denver, AP Video Journalists Eugene Garcia in Los Angeles and Haven Daley in San Francisco and AP Business Editor Courtney Bonnell in London also contributed to this report.

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The Planning and Sustainability Commission continued to discuss the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability‘s Electric Vehicle (EV) Ready Code Project proposal on Tuesday. It would require all new multi-dwelling and mixed-use developments with five or more units – and on-site parking – to provide EV-ready charging infrastructure. The commission will continue the discussion at a work session on Oct. 11.

BPS is requesting the commission recommend to Portland City Council that it adopt the proposal.

In 2017, the City Council directed BPS staff to explore EV parking and charging infrastructure requirements in new multifamily and commercial developments that include parking. Then in November 2019, BPS was directed to scope city code updates that address changing mobility needs, including mobility hubs and EV charging stations.

In 2021, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 2180, which required an update of the Oregon Structural Specialty Code. The new rules require that 20 percent of parking spaces in newly constructed, privately owned commercial buildings, as well as multi-dwelling and mixed-use buildings with five or more residential units, provide electrical conduit and options for service to support EV charging.

EV-ready requirements include conduit and designated space within the building or a designated location on the property for current or future electrical service capacity to support at least a Level 2 EV charger.

The EV Ready Code Project would bring Portland into alignment with state regulations, co-project manager Ingrid Fish said.

Used EVs are becoming increasingly available in the marketplace, and many states are committing to phaseouts of gas-powered vehicle sales, Fish added. EVs are cheaper to own than are gas vehicles, due to less fuel and maintenance costs, according to a 2018 study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

“Low-income Portlanders can really benefit from owning an EV rather than an older gas vehicle; however, it’s unrealistic to use an EV without convenient and affordable access to EV charging,” Fish said.

Meanwhile, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development has developed a climate-friendly and equitable communities rulemaking process, co-project manager Phil Nameny said. That will increase the required percentage of EV-ready parking spaces to 40 percent. That EV standard will take effect in March 2023.

The BPS has amended its proposal to require that EV-ready infrastructure be provided for at least 50 percent of parking spaces, and 100 percent of parking spaces when six or fewer spaces are provided. Another amendment adds development standards.

“These standards would limit the impact of the infrastructure on the surface parking lot landscaping areas,” Nameny said.

Those areas are intended to shade the parking lots as well as provide stormwater benefits and visual screening.

The EV chargers could be placed in interior landscaped areas if the lot still meets interior landscaping standards for 45 square feet per parking space, Nameny added. BPS does not propose that chargers be placed in the perimeter landscaped areas.

Expectations are that most EV chargers would be placed in existing parking lots; however, there may be charging islands in the future.

Portland has until March 31, 2023, to adopt necessary changes into the zoning code. Cities that do not meet the deadline must apply the state requirements directly.

Testimony at Tuesday’s meeting was in support of the proposal, with recommendations to add e-bikes and similar vehicles to the draft and remove the restriction that no EV equipment be installed in landscaped areas.

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For future electric car owners, a suburban home might just have the answer for a convenient overnight recharge.

Developer Vic Remmers is incorporating electric-car charging stations into two suburban Portland subdivisions where he’s building homes. His company, West Hills Homes NW, recently broke ground at Pioneer Highlands in Happy Valley, where he plans to build 65 homes. Remmers plans to begin building 118 homes in August at Thompson Woods in the Bonny Slope-Bethany area of Washington County.

All 183 homes will feature electric-car charging stations in their garages. The homes also have WiFi-capable thermostats and garage doors, and WiFi boosters to eliminate dead spots of wireless coverage in homes.

Remmers’ homes show home builders continuing to adjust to and stay in front of buyers’ expectations.

“One thing we’re really focused on here in 2017 is the technology in the homes and pushing forward with what we can do,” Remmers said.

In higher-income portions of the Portland metro area, Teslas seemingly have become as common as Hondas. As Teslas and other electric cars become more common, in-home charging stations begin to become a sensible amenity for developers to consider.

Remmers first tested the reception for in-home car charging stations at homes in Portland. “It’s been really well received,” he said. “It gets your homes ready for the future.”

While many homeowners have installed electric car chargers on their own, Remmers may be the first developer to do so in new homes on a wide scale in Oregon.

“It’s not common at all,” said Terry Bernhardt, an appraiser in Southwest Portland who tracks green home technologies. “Normally you have to have it installed at considerable expense.”

He estimates adding a charging station adds about $4,000 to the cost of building a home.

Paul Grove of the Home Builders Association of Portland said he was not aware of any other housing developments with charging stations installed in each home. But he said he’s noticed more public charging stations, even in rural areas.

Some downtown Portland parking garages include electric charging stations.

“You can definitely see a trend as more and more people choose to drive electric vehicles,” Grove said.

While Tesla vehicles can be plugged in directly to a wall outlet, it can take about eight hours to fully charge when connected to a 110-volt outlet. Dedicated chargers are much faster.

Bernhardt sees more residential developers adopting charging stations as electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids become more common. “The market’s going to catch up,” he said. “I think it’s a technology which has arrived now.”

Homes that include useful technology like electric car chargers both set housing apart and increase its resale value, Bernhardt said.

Electric cars can be charged in the home or at public charging stations. But most vehicle owners prefer the convenience of charging their vehicles at home, typically overnight, said Beau Snyder, an owner advisor at the Tesla dealership on Macadam Avenue, one of two in the Portland area (Tesla also has a dealership at Washington Square).

Tesla operates public charging stations that are free for Tesla owners to use. The Portland area has two so-called Superchargers, one in Woodburn and another in Sandy. There are also charging stations run by various private vendors that use differing technologies.

Some government agencies are working to expand charging stations, too. Seattle City Light, a publicly owned utility, announced plans to install 10 charging stations for drivers.

Oregon’s Building Codes Division also has discussed how to make sure new homes are electric-vehicle ready, said Jon Chandler, chief executive of the Oregon Home Builders Association.

A new era for electric cars appears to be dawning as automakers race to meet emissions mandates. Tesla is the current market leader in electric vehicles, with plans to produce 500,000 fully electric cars in 2018. But other automakers are following close behind. Volvo on July 5 announced plans to offer every vehicle with an electric motor beginning in 2019. Volvo will launch five fully electric models between 2019 and 2021, supplemented by plug-in hybrids and vehicles with so-called “mild hybrid” engines that automatically shut off when a car comes to a stop. Mercedes is also heavily investing in a new line of electric vehicles.

As electric cars become more popular, developers of single–family homes are facing fast-changing demands to respond.

“It’s something that we’re doing across the board right now,” Remmers said. “We think it’s the right thing to do, and we think it’s a feature buyers are going to appreciate in their new homes.”

Remmers uses electrical contractors Three Phase Electric, based in Canby, and Garner Electric, in Portland and Hillsboro.

West Hills Homes NW is developing Pioneer Highlands first, having garnered building permits from the city of Happy Valley. Remmers purchased the unbuilt lots in Pioneer Highlands from Holt Group, another residential developer.

“Over the years we’ve been watching Happy Valley, and it’s been growing tremendously,” Remmers said. “The demographics are excellent.”

Remmers said new Fred Meyer and New Seasons grocery stores have increased interest in the area.

The Pioneer Highlands homes are 2,500 square feet to 4,000 square feet, and are designed by an in-house architect, Brad Hosmar. Some of the homes will be one level, which is in demand for older buyers, Remmers said. Other homes will also have the master bedroom on the ground floor.

The single-family housing market has suffered from a lack of inventory. The Portland metro area had only 1.6 months of inventory in June, according to RMLS, a listing service. Total time on market for sold homes averaged 38 days.

“It’s a lot like the inner city where there really is a lack of inventory,” Remmers said. “It’s definitely a strong demand right now.”

Remmers had focused on the urban infill market before last year, when he began to build in Findley Heights, a subdivision in the Bethany-Bonny Slope area of Washington County.  A 40-lot buildout there is almost complete.

“That was tremendously received,” Remmers said. “We have a handful of homes left there that we’re building. Those have all sold well.”

Remmers is still building apartments and some condos in urban Portland, but has sought suburban developments to diversify and grow his business.

“We’re still doing a tremendous amount of homes in the infill market, just like we’ve been doing,” he said.  “This is another avenue for us to add some volume. That’s what families are looking for.”

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, a nonprofit working to build the state’s electric vehicle cluster, today announced two new grant programs that are already drumming up interest from local companies.

The programs, which will offer at least $125,000 to local companies, are meant to help startups attract outside financing.

The Matching Grant Program will pledge direct grants of up to 20 percent against larger grant proposals, with a maximum of $50,000. The local match is expected to help lure investment from federal or state resources and is written flexibly enough to match equity investment is well, according to Jeff Allen, Drive Oregon’s executive director.

“We are new to this, and we really want to see what’s out there and respond to what the needs are,” Allen said. “If (companies) have a bit of funding committed from us, it will help them leverage bigger grants from somewhere else.”

Since the program was mentioned at an event last week, Allen said that two or three people have already expressed interest in applying for a piece of the available $100,000 in matching grant funding. Applications received by close of business April 26 will be reviewed by the Drive Oregon board at its May 4 board meeting.

Drive Oregon also today announced a grant assistance program , which has a purse of $25,000, to help companies pay for proposal writing, review or development through 1:1 matching funds of up to $5,000.

“A lot of folks are interested in funding opportunities for EV companies,” Allen said. “But you need to know what funding is out there, and (this program) will help them evaluate what’s a good fit for them.”

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