By Bryce Bolen

Over the next year, the pacific northwest will be taking part in the largest introduction of fully-electric cars and charging stations in the world. Our state has been selected as one of the “pilot states” for this project, deemed “The EV Project” (EV stands for electric vehicle). The Department of Energy awarded a private company $100 million to build these networks in order to raise interest in electric vehicles and help lower our dependency on foreign oil. The first of the network of charging stations will be built in Seattle; 2000 more are to be installed over the course of a year.

This network is expected to extend to surrounding cities in the near future, which could be a huge convenience for many students on our commuter campus. The gas prices are only getting steeper, so if UW Bothell was to have charging stations installed on campus it would give some students an alternative to driving gasoline powered cars. The EV Project is allowing for individuals and companies to request potential locations for charging stations to be installed. The University of Washington Bothell must submit a request in order to be considered for installation of one of these free stations, so the clock is ticking! Individuals may also request on UWB’s behalf, so please visit the EV project’s website at www.theevproject.com to make your voice heard.

The EV Project states that, on average, an electric vehicle will save a driver 436 gallons of gasoline per year when compared to an average sedan (going 12,000 miles). This is a substantial cost savings, about $1,300 per year, that many students would love to realize. Unfortunately, the main drawback of these fully electric vehicles is the lack of a proper infrastructure to replenish depleted batteries. Once the student leaves his/her home, they would be hard stretched to find a place to plug in their car since the car requires a circuit much like the one required by your dryer. Having the University supply these charging stations would alleviate much of this pain because students spend a majority of their week at school and could charge their cars while they are in class or studying.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our campus to receive these charging stations for free, so it would be a mistake to let it pass without thought. Again, the only way we are able to be considered to be part of this project is if we put in a request on the project’s website www.theevproject.com. The more requests the better chance we will be heard, so get to clicking!