Seattle adding 31 new EV charging stations as part of emissions plan

More charging stations for electric vehicles are on the way to Seattle, with City Light approving 31 new locations for curbside “Level-2 EV stations” in their pilot program.

The sites for charging stations were selected with community requests received last summer, which experts from the City Light and Seattle Department of Transportation panel reviewed and finalized based on location, number of requests in a given area, availability of infrastructure, and property type.

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“The strong response from community members for this initial pilot phase has been remarkable,” said Angela Song, Transportation Electrification Portfolio Manager with Seattle City Light. “The interest in placement of the charging sites demonstrates the growing demand for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in our region.”

Each kilowatt hour provides enough of a charge to drive 30 miles per hour of charge, and drivers will pay an estimated 21 cents per kilowatt hour, or enough charge to drive three miles.

The fees are designed to pay for the electricity, operations, maintenance, and repair costs while offsetting the initial purchase and installation costs.

This is a part of the City of Seattle’s goal to reduce transportation emissions by 83% from 2008 levels by 2030.

“Residents can accomplish much of this with low-emission travel by public transit, biking, walking, and other options; however, many will still rely on personal vehicles for some of their trips,” City Light said in their announcement. “Seattle City Light is installing these chargers as part of a more extensive portfolio of transportation electrification investments and services to help the utility’s service area transition to zero-emission electric transportation options.”

City Light says they’ll start installing the stations all over Seattle starting in April — with about 50% of them in place by the end of May and the rest installed by the end of summer.

A complete list of all locations with the new EV charging stations is here.