EV infrastructure plan for Western Oregon

ECOtality reveals EV infrastructure plan for Western Oregon

More than 1,000 Blink charging stations will charge up
electric vehicles in Portland and other key metropolitan areas

PORTLAND, ORE. – Wednesday, September 22, 2010 – ECOtality, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECTY), a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies, today unveiled its Blink electric vehicle charging station as well as blueprints for electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure deployment in four major metropolitan areas in Northwestern Oregon: Portland, Salem, Corvallis and Eugene. The announcement marks the completion of a critical milestone in the planning process for The EV Project, the largest rollout of EV infrastructure in the world. As part of the project, ECOtality will install more than 1,100 publicly available chargers throughout the region.

ECOtality worked closely with its Oregon Advisory Team and area stakeholders—including Pacificorp, the newest EV Project partner—to complete deployment guidelines and develop maps showing potential charging site locations and density. The maps were created using criteria developed during the Micro-Climate™ process and take into consideration a variety of factors, including transportation routes, employment centers and zoning.
Portland ECOtality completes charging density/distribution map for EV Project locations in Northwestern Oregon. ECOtality will install more than 1,100 publicly available chargers statewide. (Pictured: Portland Metro Area)

“I have long known that Oregon was the right state to launch this next generation of vehicles and show the rest of the country that we can make this transition without inconveniencing or pricing regular citizens out of this market,” said Governor Ted Kulongoski. “With today’s announcement, we are taking that next step forward toward making electric cars – and the supporting infrastructure – available, affordable and accessible to Oregonians across the state.”

“Today, Oregon is ready to emerge as a pioneer in electric vehicle adoption,” said Jonathan Read, President and CEO of ECOtality. “The support of our advisory group has provided invaluable research, and allowed us to develop a smart plan for the installation of EV infrastructure that suits the needs of Oregon’s future EV drivers. By coupling our plans with the capabilities of Blink, we are creating the rich charge infrastructure needed to make electric vehicles a reality.”

The four Oregon cities were selected as host sites for The EV Project in 2009, and will play a critical role in developing a rich charging infrastructure for EV drivers. ECOtality coordinated with the state to develop an advisory team including representatives from state and local government agencies and utilities.

“Throughout the EV Project, ECOtality is developing more calculated methods to prepare cities and regional areas for an EV infrastructure foundation,” stated Don Karner, President of ECOtality North America. “With each blueprint ECOtality creates, we are able to move forward in paving the way for the national rollout of electric vehicles.”

ECOtality is the project manager for The EV Project, and is tasked with supervising the construction of the largest deployment of EV infrastructure to date. The $230 million public-private initiative is funded with a $114.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The EV Project includes 16 states and major metropolitan areas, and will result in the installation of over 15,000 charging stations, over the course of three years.

The Oregon Advisory Team includes representatives from the Building Codes Division; City of Corvallis; City of Eugene; City of Gresham; City of Salem; Eugene Water & Electric Board; Oregon Department of Transportation; Oregon Business Development Department; Oregon Department of Energy; Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium; Pacific Power; Portland Development Commission; Portland General Electric; Salem Electric; and the Unviersity of Oregon.