King County expands EV fleet, receives $6 million charging grant

The King County Executive Climate office is working to increase access to electric vehicles within county departments and ensure more charging availability for all users. A significant grant awarded in 2024 will help play a role in that effort.

In April, Executive Dow Constantine announced $6 million in funding from the state Commerce Department for more than 400 new charging ports across King County, including at community centers, fire stations, residential buildings, retail centers and Metro bus bases. Constantine also highlighted King County’s growing fleet of zero-emission vehicles.

“We’re taking action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. In addition to transitioning King County’s own fleet to zero-emission vehicles, we’re installing more EV charging ports at county facilities and collaborating with community partners to provide more public EV charging countywide,” said Executive Constantine. “Thank you to the state Commerce Department for this critical funding to expand access to EV charging.”

The Commerce Department says it put out a call to local governments to create community-driven partnerships that bring EV charging access to every Washingtonian, and King County stepped up.

“As a result, hundreds of new chargers across the county, from fleet stations to apartment buildings in Shoreline and Bothell to public fast charging in Kent and Renton, will soon join our state’s fast growing charging network,” said Washington State Department of Commerce Director Mike Fong.

King County partnered with a wide range of co-applicants to submit a proposal to the Commerce Department. Funds were awarded for charging ports at 55 locations throughout the county, including all nine of King County’s own fleet charging sites, 13 multi-family residential buildings and 16 publicly accessible locations.

The EV charging grants were made possible by the state Climate Commitment Act, deploying funding from the state’s cap-and-invest program to create jobs, lower costs and fight climate change across Washington state.

King County has prioritized work to lead in the transition to a zero-emission fleet.

• Metro is one of the only large transit agencies in the country working toward a 100% zero-emissions fleet by 2035. Last month, Metro broke ground on its first fully electric bus base that will support 120 new zero-emission buses.
• Solid Waste Division is one of the first waste management agencies in North America to operate a battery-electric heavy-duty truck, used to haul materials from its Enumclaw Recycling and Transfer Station to the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill in Maple Valley.
• King County International Airport (KCIA) is the first U.S. airport with a fully electric sweeper, used to clear debris and snow from runways. KCIA will also soon be the first airport in the country with a hybrid electric fire truck, replacing its oldest diesel rig.

“By building our first ever all-electric bus base and upgrading our fleet to battery-electric buses, we have set a strong pace toward our zero-emission future,” said King County Metro General Manager Michelle Allison. “We’re proud to provide service to more than one million riders each week and growing, and we invite everyone to celebrate Earth Week by riding Metro.”

“We are proud of our contribution to King County’s overall electrification efforts,” said Pat McLaughlin, Solid Waste Division director. “Our electric heavy-duty truck is proving to manufacturers there is strong demand for vehicles that cut greenhouse gas emissions.”

“One of the larger carbon emitters in our control is the fleet of vehicles we use to operate and maintain the airport,” said David Decoteau, deputy director of King County International Airport-Boeing Field. “By replacing our old diesel units with electric vehicles, we’re taking another step toward reducing our environmental impact."