City of Tenino receives grant funding to install electric vehicle charging stations

Electric vehicle charging stations will soon be arriving in Tenino.

The Thurston County Board of Commissioners approved to enter into an interlocal agreement with the City of Tenino Tuesday, Aug. 6, to provide $367,343 in state grant funding to install electric vehicle supply equipment at the Southwest Washington Agricultural Business & Innovation Park, known as the “Ag Park.”

The funding comes from a contract with the Washington state Department of Commerce through the Clean Energy Fund Electrification of Transportation Systems program. These monies will be used to install two direct current (DC) fast-charging stations and two dual Level 2 charging stations.

The project is a public-private partnership among Thurston County, the City of Tenino, Thurston Economic Development Council (EDC) and other partners to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector and promote the Ag Park as a regional hub for agritourism and rural development.

The City of Tenino will use a competitive procurement process to select a contractor to purchase and install the chargers. Tenino Mayor Dave Watterson said the city has yet to put the project out for a bid as communications with the county continue, but he hopes to have that completed this month. The EDC will contribute matching funds of $40,000 to prepare the site and construct the infrastructure needed to power the charging stations. Construction and completion dates are still unknown.

DC fast-charging stations charge directly to electric vehicle batteries in order to decrease charge times, while Level 2 charging stations draw electricity from a more powerful source but are not as quick as the DC fast chargers.