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Oregon and Washington Submit Coordinated VW Strategy
 Volkswagen Group of America is investing $2 billion in Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure and awareness over the next 10 years through its Electrify America initiative. The initiative will kick off with a 30-month investment plan by March. Drive Oregon recently worked with Oregon and Washington state to submit a coordinated regional proposal to highlight where we think VW investments can best strengthen the ZEV ecosystem in the Pacific Northwest. This is just one piece in the larger regional collaboration between state agencies, utilities, automakers, charging companies, nonprofits, and others that will be necessary to support the transition to electric transportation. Contact Zach Henkin with any questions. You may also contact Andrew Dick with the State of Oregon to ensure that you are included in Oregon’s stakeholder outreach work.
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February Events To Focus On Transportation Equity
 Access to clean, affordable transportation for all will be the focus of two upcoming Drive Oregon events. On February 16, we will be hosting Joel Espino of the Greenlining Institute, an organization that advances economic opportunity and empowerment for people of color, and has had a substantive role in the efforts to make electric vehicles available to underserved communities. In the morning, Joel will help us lead an interactive workshop focused on transportation equity and electric vehicles. In the afternoon, Joel will present at our monthly networking event to discuss his organization's work to research, promote, and support electric vehicle car sharing in underserved communities. To learn more and register to attend, follow the links above.
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Drive Oregon Recognized in Workplace Charging Challenge Update
 This month, the Department of Energy released its 2016 annual report on the Workplace Charging Challenge, a program encouraging workplaces to offer electric vehicle charging to their employees. The report highlights that 400 employers have signed on to be Challenge partners and more than 14,000 employees are commuting to these workplaces in a plug-in electric vehicle. The report also recognizes the Challenge's Ambassadors, stakeholder organizations that support and promote the deployment of workplace charging infrastructure. Drive Oregon is an engaged ambassador and, in 2016, recruited more than 20 new partners to the Challenge, leading ambassador recruitment for three consecutive years!
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PGE & Pacific Power Propose EV Programs to OPUC
 In late December, Oregon's two largest utilities submitted proposals to accelerate transportation electrification to the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) for review. This landmark development was the result of SB 1547, a bill passed in the 2016 Oregon legislative session that recognized the broad benefits of transportation electrification for Oregonians and required the state's two regulated utilities to file EV proposals with the OPUC. Portland General Electric's and Pacific Power's plans both include outreach and education, technical assistance, R&D, and public EV charging installations as core pilot programs. For a closer look at each utility's plans, visit our website for a summary of our January monthly networking event, which featured representatives of PGE and Pacific Power discussing their transportation electrification proposals.
Pacific Power also announced it was awarded a $3.9 million Department of Energy grant to accelerate electric vehicle adoption. The majority of this funding is earmarked for developing electric highway corridors in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming, which will help expand the DC Fast charging network in the western states. Drive Oregon is a partner on this grant project and will receive funding to conduct outreach and education in Pacific Power territory.
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EV Charging ENERGY STAR Specifications Released
 The Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR program identifies and promotes energy efficiency in products, homes and buildings nationwide. The ENERGY STAR rating is an easy tool for consumers to use when making decisions about what products to purchase, from refrigerators to TVs and, now, electric vehicle charging stations. After a thorough development process, which incorporated input from EV industry members, the EPA has released the final ENERGY STAR program requirements for EV charging stations. The EPA highlighted that, under these new ENERGY STAR efficiency requirements, "savings from ENERGY STAR certified EV charging stations will grow to more than $17 million each year and more than 280 million pounds of annual greenhouse gas emissions would be prevented, equivalent to the emissions from more than 26,000 vehicles." For more information, visit the ENERGY STAR website.
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