Electric vehicles are the transportation of the future. In the meantime, cities are struggling to install the infrastructure that we will all need to charge our cars. This is an important issue for EV owners away from a home or office charging port, or if they live in an apartment complex.
If the EV market is to scale as we need it to, cities need to get inventive and make charging more widely available. Seattle is one city that may be leading the way! By installing chargers on local utility poles, the city will help pave the way for the future of transportation.
The new Curbside Level 2 EV Charging program gives EV drivers a new spot to plug in while out and about. The service will be available to any drivers on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Incentivizing buying electric vehicles
As the city ramps up installations, EV drivers can even put in requests to have a charger installed near their home. That is, as long as it’s in Seattle, is in an area that has street parking, and it won’t block a bike lane. Even drivers planning on buying an EV in the future can request a charger be installed near them, so long as it meets with a more than 50 percent approval from the neighborhood.
Chargers will be installed on utility poles and pedestal mounts, around the city. With an hour of charge, the average EV will gain about 30 miles of range. Drivers will be expected to pay about 20 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is much less expensive than the going rate for most Tesla chargers popping up around the nation.
“The City of Seattle set a goal to reduce transportation emissions 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,” the city said in a statement. “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.”
With more solutions like these, the United States is on its way to building the necessary infrastructure for the green transportation revolution.
