Tualatin moves closer to securing $15 million for EV charging infrastructure

Published 5:00 am Thursday, January 30, 2025

Editor’s note: On Friday, Jan. 31, Tualatin officials said seeking the federal funds for electrical vehicle infrastructure has been put on temporary pause until the city gets clarity on recent presidential executive orders.

The city of Tualatin will move forward with its expansive plans to develop charging infrastructure to power electric vehicles once $15 million in federal funding arrives.

On Jan. 13, the Tualatin City Council approved having City Manager Sherilyn Lombos to accept a grant agreement with the Federal Highway Administration to kick off a project the city has dubbed Tualatin and Neighbors Charging Up, or TANC-UP.

The city is leading the way to secure federal Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program funds, money that will benefit Tualatin and a consortium of 16 other Willamette Valley cities including Beaverton, Hillsboro, King City, Sherwood and Tigard to install the needed EV infrastructure.

That federal grant will be paired with $3.8 million in matching funds that include $200,000 from Portland General Electric and $3.6 million from a yet-to-be selected electric vehicle charging vendor. Tualatin is expected to collect a total of $18.8 million to install up to 1,000 EV charging ports throughout Tualatin and neighboring cities.

“The project, aims to deploy half of the chargers in publicly accessible facilities such as libraries, parks, and moderate-income residents who may otherwise not have access to charging, creating a barrier to electric vehicle adoption,” stated a Tualatin staff report. Some of those funds are expected to be used for public engagement and education focused on electric vehicles as well.

Nic Westendorf, Tualatin deputy public works director, said once the funding is secured, he expects to spend the first year planning out the infrastructure details but noted there could be some installation going on later in this year with the project in full swing. The entire project is expected to span five years.

“There’s a lot of work that will go into selecting a charging vendor, executing all the subcontracts, getting the various stakeholders together, selecting sites, understanding utility upgrades that may be required, working with property owners and the public, and then actually building the things,” said Westendorf.

The project supports two of the city’s priorities that focus on the environment and transportation.

In 2023, CNN reported that 1 million fully electric vehicles were purchase that year in the United States, making it the first time that so many EVs were sold in this country in a single year.

Locally, Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer, just announced they would soon locate its first Oregon showroom in the nearby Bridgeport Village shopping complex.