Electric Vehicles

Seattle is one of a handful of cities participating in the nation’s largest electric vehicle demonstration, the EV Project. With the help of millions in federal stimulus dollars, the City of Seattle is collaborating with Puget Sound local governments, businesses, non-profits, and electric vehicle enthusiasts, to create a robust regional charging infrastructure for EVs.

Promoting electric vehicles an important part of the City’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gases from cars and trucks on Seattle’s roads, which make up 40 percent of our city-wide footprint and are the single largest source of emissions. To reduce our transportation footprint, the City is pursuing a two-part strategy. The first part focuses on increasing transportation choices so that residents and businesses can walk, bike, or take transit. The second part focuses on improving vehicle efficiency so that the remaining cars and trucks on Seattle roads have a smaller greenhouse gas impact.

Plug-in electric vehicles are an exciting step forward in efficiency, especially here in Seattle where the vehicles will be powered by the clean energy of Seattle City Light . In fact, if the average Seattleite switched to an electric car, it would eliminate more than four tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year.

Read the FAQ or visit some of the other pages below.

Getting Seattle Plug-In Ready

The City has been working to ensure that Seattle is “plug-in ready.” The Plug-in Ready Team is working to:

• Streamline the permitting process and provide consumer information for installing home and commercial charging stations.
• Identify code changes for new construction to make it easier to install charging stations.
• Developing charging stations on City property for city fleets and public charging.
• Coordinate with surrounding cities and King County to develop a regional EV infrastructure strategy.
• Explore market demand for plug-in vehicles, and the infrastructure needs for likely EV purchasers.
• Provide education on the benefits of electric vehicles.

Funding for EV infrastructure

Funding for Seattle’s EV charging infrastructure is coming from federal stimulus funds. On the private property side, ECOtality North America is working on installation of charging stations for homes and at local businesses. For public property, the Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition was awarded funds for the City of Seattle to install up to 50 EV charging stations for the City’s fleet and for public access on public property, such as the Seattle Center and the Central Library garages.

Electric vehicle links

Seattle Electric Vehicle Association

The EV Project

Western Washington Clean Cities

EV Guide by Western Washington Clean Cities

Electric Drive Washington

Washington Electric Vehicle Laws and Incentives

How an Electric Vehicle Works

US Department of Energy – Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles

EV icon by Washington Dept. of Transportation.