Federal money for electric car charging stations

The Oregonian reported yesterday that Oregon applied for $15 million in stimulus money for electric vehicle charging stations. The state already has some of the most advanced charging station infrastructure in the country with just a handful of charging stations installed. The grant is aimed at expanding the network to help ensure car owners have a place to charge when they use their proposed $5,000 state tax credit to buy the new plug-in hybrid Nissans coming to Oregon in 2010.

The Daily Journal of Commerce also had a similar article two weeks ago, announcing the state's request for charging station proposals. They reported the state is seeking $12.5 million in federal stimulus money, which the state would match to create a total funding pool of $25 million to build about 1,200 charging stations.

Shorepower Technologies, which designed PGE's new charging station, installed last July at its Portland headquarters, seems like a good candidate for developing the Oregon charging network. I know that Coulomb Technologies, which operates subscription-based charging networks in the Bay Area is also interested in bringing their service to Oregon.