Pacific Power makes 22 electric mobility grants, 6 in C. Oregon, to help more Oregonians plug into EVs’ benefits

(Update/correction: Six C.O. grants, including Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs)

PORTLAND, Ore., (KTVZ) — Pacific Power has awarded more than $2 million to 22 organizations in Oregon, six on the High Desert, for projects that will expand electric mobility and connect people across the state to the cost-saving, clean-air benefits of electric vehicles. 

The latest round of Electric Mobility Grants will fund a wide variety of opportunities, the utility said in Tuesday's news release, which continues below in full.

For example, they will help bring an electric forklift to a community college in Pendleton, an electric refrigerated truck to a food bank in Bend, the first electric vehicle to the Falls City Public Works Department and free e-bikes to residents of a Central Oregon affordable housing complex.

In addition, a dozen community-focused organizations and nonprofits will be able to purchase electric vehicles to help them carry out their work, and EV charging stations will be installed from Wallowa County to the South Coast, serving areas that currently lack adequate public charging. 

“Pacific Power is committed to delivering a sustainable future for our state while benefiting local communities,” said Kate Hawley, electric transportation senior product manager for Pacific Power. “These transformative grants will supercharge the switch to clean transportation, a key component to building a zero-emissions future. Many of the grants are concentrated on underserved and rural communities, as part of our goal of ensuring that all our customers have equitable access to the benefits of electric transportation.”

About Electric Mobility Grants

Pacific Power has distributed more than $6.5 million in Electric Mobility Grants to Oregon communities since 2020. Funding is made possible by the Oregon Clean Fuels Program, which aims to reduce the carbon intensity of Oregon’s transportation fuels. Pacific Power raises funds for the grants through the sale of Clean Fuels Program credits that the company aggregates on behalf of customers who charge their electric vehicles at home. Grant matching and grant writing support are also available to organizations that are pursuing EV-related projects. 

The latest round of Electric Mobility Grants will fund a diverse group of innovative projects:

Central Oregon

• The Giving Plate (Bend). The Giving Plate, which addresses childhood hunger across Central Oregon, will use funds to purchase an electric refrigerated truck and a used electric passenger car that will travel to underserved communities to deliver food. Funding will also cover the installation of a charging station to support the vehicles and provide public charging.

• The Deschutes River Conservancy (Bend). The conservancy is dedicated to restoring streamflow and improving water quality in the Deschutes River Basin. Funds will be used to install two EV charging ports and purchase an electric truck for delivering in-person programming to more rural corners of the basin, and to work with economically disadvantaged communities that depend heavily on agriculture.

• Crook County Justice Center (Prineville). The justice center campus serves many at-risk, socially vulnerable and low-income residents in an area that has limited access to EV infrastructure. Funds will be used to install eight EV charging ports on the campus– two in a secure lot reserved for staff and six available to the public.

• RootedHomes (Bend). RootedHomes develops affordable net-zero housing to help solve a growing housing crisis for Central Oregon’s workforce. In partnership with Ride2You, they are tackling the issue of cost-effective, long-term, sustainable transportation by offering a free e-bike to each household in a 40-unit affordable housing community, using E-mobility funds to purchase the bikes.

• Deschutes Children Foundation/Friends of the Children Central Oregon (Bend). Dedicated to guiding and supporting young children from disadvantaged backgrounds, the foundation will use funds to purchase an electric van that will transport program participants to activities that help educate and prepare them for the future.
  
• Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (Warm Springs). The rural and Tribal utilities department seeks to embrace electric transportation and provide supporting infrastructure in a community severely underserved by EV infrastructure. Funds will be used to help the utility advance its forward-looking electrification plans by purchasing two EV trucks and providing two new publicly available charging ports, free for use by low-income families. 

Eastern Oregon 

• Blue Mountain Community College (Pendleton). The rural community college will use funds to procure two EVs and an electric-powered forklift. With these purchases, the college seeks to reduce harmful emissions; benefit a diverse and underserved student body; and foster electric mobility interest, education and use in the community. 

• Wallowa Lake Lodge (Joseph). Funds will be used to install an EV charger that will be available to tourists and community members who attend meetings, events, celebrations and lectures at the lodge. 

• Winding Waters Medical Clinic (Wallowa). Winding Waters is a rural medical clinic that serves the community through its facility, supplemented by a care team that performs home visits and medication deliveries. Funds will be used to install an EV charger at the clinic, available to the public 24/7.

• Wallowa County (Enterprise). In a rural area underserved by EV infrastructure, the county will use funds to install a dual-port charger on the grounds of the historic Wallowa County Courthouse in downtown Enterprise, a tourist destination and highly visible location for promoting the use of EVs.

Northern Coast 

• Astoria Chamber of Commerce/Oregon Coast Visitors Association (Tillamook). Funds will be used to survey the Oregon coast and identify areas where EV charging infrastructure is most needed to serve the area’s 600,000 residents and 6.2 million annual visitors. 

• Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital (Lincoln City). Funds will be used to install two dual-port EV charging stations, one that will provide free charging for patients and visitors and one that will be available to employees for a nominal fee. 

• Seaside Park and Pay LLC and Avi Enterprises LLC (Seaside). Funds will be used to install two new dual-port chargers in a privately owned public parking lot. The site is located in an important EV corridor on Oregon’s north coast that is underserved by EV infrastructure relative to tourist numbers and demand. 

Portland and Hood River

• Forth LLC (Portland). In keeping with its mission to electrify transportation and reduce barriers to access, Forth will use funds to purchase a commercial electric pickup truck that will travel to various events as part of an educational mobile showcase developed to encourage dialogue about EVs, especially in underserved and rural communities. Other purchases include kiosks, vinyl graphics and marketing supplies to support the education and outreach campaign. 

• Going Home II (Portland). To support its work helping incarcerated people make the transition to community life, Going Home II will use funds to purchase a plug-in hybrid EV and two charging ports for its ride-sharing system. The vehicles will facilitate clients' access to job interviews, rehabilitation programs and more. 

• Our Streets (Portland). Serving those experiencing housing and food insecurities, Our Streets prepares and delivers 1,000 meals a day to shelters and other community partners in the Portland metro area. Funds will be used to install a charging port and purchase an electric van for shuttling between kitchen, procurement and donation runs. 

• Hood River Valley Adult Center (Hood River). Funds will be used to install four publicly accessible EV charging ports. The center runs a volunteer Circles of Care program that provides free rides to medical appointments, and being able to charge EVs quickly is important. Other groups that will benefit from additional charging capacity include 30 EV drivers associated with the center and residents of a nearby senior-living facility. 

Rogue Valley

• United Way of Jackson County (Medford). The organization will use funds to educate the community on the importance of electric wheelchair charging and to create a network of businesses that will provide equipment and spaces for community members to charge their wheelchairs while on-site.

Southern Coast

• Coquille Indian Tribe. Funds will be used to install four EV charging ports with designated parking spaces at the Tribe’s new wellness center. Residents and visitors will have easy access to nearby amenities, small businesses and health resources while using the charging station, potentially benefiting the local economy.

Willamette Valley

• Falls City. This city of about 1,000 residents lacks a gas station and will use funds to purchase an its first electric vehicle for the Public Works Department. It is expected to save the city thousands of dollars as it is used for meter reading and park and road maintenance rounds. 

• Marys River Watershed Council (Corvallis). This nonprofit, which provides watershed restoration and education programs for students, will use grant funds to purchase an electric truck and install a publicly accessible EV charging station. The truck will transport employees and program participants to project sites and greenspaces that might otherwise be inaccessible. 

• The Health Hub/Friends of the Children Lane County (Cottage Grove). Focused on guiding and supporting young children from disadvantaged backgrounds, the nonprofit program will use grant funds to purchase an electric van that will transport young participants to activities that help educate and prepare them for the future.

For information about the Electric Mobility Grant program and customer rebates for installing EV chargers, please visit pacificpower.net/ev.

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About Pacific Power

Pacific Power provides safe and reliable electric service to more than 800,000 customers in 243 communities across Oregon, Washington and California. Pacific Power is part of PacifiCorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, serving nearly two million customers in six western states as the largest regulated utility owner of wind power in the West. For more information, visit www.pacificpower.net.