New EV Charging Stations Coming To Washington Highways

Slowly but surely, more charging opportunities are being offered up to people who drive electric vehicles. The latest is the announcement from the Washington State Department of Transportation that money has been awarded to multiple companies to install EV charging stations along I-90, US-97, US-195 and US-395. 

According to. Wsdot.wa.gov,
‘These projects will expand the state’s EV footprint within 25 miles of the Idaho and Oregon state lines and within 50 miles of the Canadian border and will meet EV drivers’ demand for convenient and affordable fast charging services.’ 

My particular interest is I-90. I don't know about you, but for me, over the course of a year, I use I-90 quite a bit and it's good to know that more charging opportunities are going to be offered up to EV drivers for I-90. 

More details 

Each charging station that's installed will have 4 hookups that will be able to provide 150 kilowatts each. 150 kilowatts is a respectable power output. Not the highest, but not the lowest either.  

The locations on I-90. 

Issaquah, North Bend. Cle Elum. Ellensburg. Moses Lake. Ritzville and Veradale. 

The companies receiving grants for installation are Energy Northwest, Electric Era, EV Gateway, and Tesla. 

You may be familiar with Energy Northwest since they are involved in wind, solar, and nuclear energy generation in Washington state. 

Energy era is a. Technology startup based out of Seattle, WA that specializes in manufacturing charging stations. 

EV Gateway is a hardware and software company that in their words. “is a turn-key Electric Vehicle Infrastructure solutions provider offering end-to-end services, including station installation, maintenance, network management, mobile app integration, and ongoing support for all charging scenarios.”   

And for better or worse, we all know who Tesla is. The Tesla charging network is the largest and most reliable charging network in the United States. 

I've been driving electric for many years now. And I've had plenty of time to find all the charging stations that work. (And several that don't.) Since being able to access the Tesla charging network, there really isn't a place that I need to go in Washington state where I can't find a charging station. 

Less range anxiety. 

For those of you that think about electrical vehicles and the possibility of range anxiety, seriously, I don't sweat it. When I plan my trip, I know where I'm going, I know where the charging stations are, and I'm a happy boy. There are plenty of apps available that can give you the information you need to make your trip. 

As I see it, the only real downside to 3rd party charging stations is the price of electricity. OK, I got it, the charging company needs to make money, but seriously, that much money? The average price of electricity from a third-party charging station in the state of Washington is around $0.45 a kWh. (How much does your electricity cost at home?) It will always be cheaper to charge your electric vehicle at home, always.  

I'm looking forward to the time when these charging stations are made available to the public.