Here’s where Bellingham is adding electric vehicle charging stations
Bellingham will be adding 90 electric-vehicle charging stations around the city — including some fast-charging sites and some that are solar-powered — thanks to a state grant and the city’s transportation tax.
About 20 of the planned 45 dual-plug electric-vehicle charging stations will be installed within a year, and the rest will be placed in 2023, said Chad Schulhauser, assistant director of the Public works Department.
Money for the $2 million project comes from a $1.5 million grant from the state Department of Commerce and the rest from the voter-approved Transportation Fund, which is a two-tenths of 1% sales tax on purchases within the city.
A measure to approve the grant award passed the City Council unanimously on Monday, March 14.
Efforts to add electric vehicle charging infrastructure are part of Bellingham’s 2018 Climate Protection Action Plan to fight climate change.
“These measures call for advancing electrification of transportation across the entire city, equitably, and promoting a shift from internal-combustion engines to large-scale adoption of electric vehicles,” said Public Works Director Eric Johnston in a memo.
“This requires a comprehensive and aggressive approach to install chargers throughout all areas of the city, addressing end uses including workplace charging for commuters and city staff, destination charging in high-use commercial or tourism-focused locations, strategic deployment of (charging stations) in public rights-of-way, and access to charging stations in public parks,” Johnston said.
Transportation makes up 32% of emissions according to the 2015 city’s greenhouse gas inventory, and city officials hope for a 40% emissions drop from 2000 levels by 2030, he said.
“Of the 90 plugs provided by this project, 70 will be publicly accessible and 20 will be reserved for fleet or employee commuters. Many sites serve multiple end-users and significant overlap is intentional to increase both the use of the equipment and the efficiency of installations,” Johnston said.
