COLVILLE – The Washington State Department of Commerce and representatives from Avista celebrated a new fast electric vehicle charging station earlier this week.
Bryce Eschenbacher, senior electric transportation engineer for Avista, said the $750,000 dollar project started in 2021 in collaboration with the city of Colville, with the goal to alleviate range anxiety for electric vehicle owners and boost local economies.
He said a total of $394,000 was funded by the Climate Commitment Act to help with the project, as well as a $356,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce.
The new charging station, which was completed in June, resides near Norm’s Auto Repair and several restaurants in the center of the rural town, he said.
This is the only Climate Commitment Act-funded charging station in Eastern Washington, he added.
“Hitting those underserved locations in corridors that don’t currently have fast charging was a big part for us,” Eschenbacher said.
Shelly Stevens, marketing director for the Tri-County Economic Development District, said this will help boost the economy and tourism in northeast Washington.
Stevens lives in Chewelah but drives her electric vehicle to Colville, where her work is located.
“There’s a lot more gaps to fill in this neck of the woods, but this is such a great addition,” Stevens said.
Joe Nguyễn, director for the Washington State Department of Commerce, said the charging station closes a 20-mile charging gap along U.S. 395. and can charge close to a full battery in 10 to 15 minutes. They’ve found at least three people a day utilize the station, he said.
“It’s as long as it takes you to get a cup of coffee, enjoy one of the local businesses, or go to the bathroom; that’s about what it takes to charge your car. That’s why it’s so important to have these types of infrastructure and kind of the places that you wouldn’t always expect, so that way people don’t have to worry about where they’re going to get a charge,” Nguyễn said.
According to an Alternative Fueling Station Locator on the U.S. Department of Energy page, there are eight electric vehicle charging stations in northeast Washington, including Colville’s new one.
Eschenbacher said they plan to head to Kettle Falls and Wilbur next.
“Our plan is to hit every small town in our Washington service territory with charging infrastructure of some kind. We want to electrify the U.S. 395 corridor,” Eschenbacher said.
