Ford finds partners to prepare Oregon, Seattle for electric vehicles

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Ford, Green Daily

In an effort to help prepare the city of Portland and the Pacific Northwest for upcoming electric vehicles (EVs), Ford Motor Company and Portland General Electric (PGE) will work collaboratively to ensure that the area’s electrical grid can support battery-powered vehicles and will focus on informing consumers about the benefits of going electric. Ford and PGE will work together to convince local and state governments to develop an EV incentive program and hope to promote legislation and regulations that will encourage people to adopt EVs.

PGE recently unveiled the nation’s first quick-charge station at its World Trade Center headquarters in Portland, OR. The quick-charge stations add to a network of more than 20 charging stations in PGE’s operating area. Ford will introduce its first battery-powered vehicle, an electrified version of the Transit Connect, later this year, followed by the Focus EV in 2011. Follow the jump for more regarding the recent paring of Ford and PGE.

In related news, Ford has partnered with the city of Seattle to prepare that area for its EVs as well. The terms of the agreement between Ford and Seattle are nearly identical to the deal struck up with PGE. Mike Tinskey, Ford’s manager of vehicle electrification and infrastructure, spoke of the importance of partnering with Seattle, stating:

Ford has an aggressive plan to bring five new electrified vehicles to market over the next two years including the Transit Connect Electric later this year and the Focus battery electric in 2011. There is an incredible excitement for electric vehicles in Seattle. To support the roll out and acceptance of these vehicles in Seattle and across the country, it is important to work with local utilities to make sure the necessary infrastructure and demand on the grid are ready.

With the addition of Portland and Seattle, Ford, like Nissan, is focusing a significant amount of effort into developing the EV infrastructure on our nation’s western coast. Now it’s time to expand the scope of those projects and reach out to areas in the Midwest.

[Source: Ford]

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Ford finds partners to prepare Oregon, Seattle for electric vehicles originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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