One year ago, the City of Sweet Home installed an electric vehicle charging station – something that may have seemed, to some, out of place in such a rural area where generations of people have lived their lives off the natural resources of timber, fish and homegrown smiles.
The New Era checked in with the city to see if the charging station is getting any use. Here’s what we found.
The EV station went live in June 2024. The first use it got was on Aug. 13, 2024. Since then, there have been 418 charging sessions – an average of approximately one car per day – distributing a total of 9,905.485 kilowatts per hour (kwh). It takes an average of 32 minutes to charge a car.
According to Deputy City Manager Cecily Pretty, the city shares the revenue with Pacific Power. Sweet Home to date has earned $2,971.06, which is placed into the streets portion of the city’s General Fund.
It was former city manager Kelcey Young who secured the EV station, which cost the city nothing because it was funded through a Pacific Power grant.
The city stated on its website, “This is a grant-funded project intended to provide vehicle charging as an amenity in Sweet Home’s downtown area in order to increase tourism and support the green energy initiative in Sweet Home and the neighboring areas.”
Young envisioned adding one or two additional stations when grants became available. While the city continues to keep an eye out for those grant opportunities, Pretty said it’s not a top priority.
“We have other higher priority projects right now and we would want to be thoughtful about the location for any additional charging stations, so we don’t have a site identified currently,” she said.
Young had said many commuters pass through Sweet Home on their way to Bend from the coast and Portland area, where electric vehicles are more common. Sweet Home’s EV station was the only fast-charging station she was aware of along the Highway 20 corridor. It was Young’s hope that users would spend money in Sweet Home while they waited for their cars to charge.
“We’re pleased to offer the charging station as an option for locals and visitors, particularly because of our location as a typical ‘last stop’ before heading over the mountains,” Pretty told The New Era.