PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 21, 2022
ChargeWest™ – West Electric Highway Powers-Up Regional Fast Charging for Eight Western States
The ChargeWest™ – West Electric Highway was unveiled on the first day of summer, June 21st, at Packsize in Salt Lake City, Utah. The brand will be used by the ChargeWest™ eight state collaborative thus making this the largest EV corridor collective in the nation including AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, and WY. This highly collaborative western-centric project brought together the intermountain west states with their Governors, Energy Offices, Departments of Transportation, and regional Clean Cities programs.
This eight state partnership worked with Clean Cities networks and State Agencies to design and expand the alternative fuel corridors with electric charging in the Intermountain West and support EV access into high visitation areas throughout rural America and offer regional transportation solutions to gateway communities through public/private partnerships.
The ChargeWest™ website portal will provide consumer education, laws and incentives with state and federal programming including US DOT’s Charge Forward and National Electric Vehicle Initiative (NEVI) Formula Program with the new Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.
The official launch of the ChargeWest™ – West Electric Highway kicked off today at Packsize and brought together state leadership and partners to celebrate the next stage of the ChargeWest™, formally CORWest, brand. Speakers for the event included Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Hanko Kiessner – Co-Founder & Chairman of Leaders For Clean Air and Founder of Packsize, Kim Frost – Executive Director Utah Clean Air Partnership, Flint Timmins – Destination Development Specialist Utah Office Of Tourism, and Tammie Bostic – Executive Director Utah Clean Cities. The event also included a keynote video address from Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
The event included the opportunity to walk around, and drive, current electric vehicles on the market today including vehicles from Rivian, Arcimoto, and Chevy. These vehicles highlight the reliability, efficiency, and forward thinking of the EV market today, with innovative technologies becoming more accessible each day.
Utah’s Governor Spencer Cox weighed in on the historic and important milestone of the new electric corridors shared and built out by regional states, “We are celebrating the collaborative work of the Utah Clean Cities led project CORWest which grew from REVWest, and now lives on forever as ChargeWest™. ChargeWest™ is recognized as a national rural model for building electric vehicle infrastructure throughout rural gateway communities, national parks, and scenic byways. As Governor of Utah, it is a proud moment to commemorate in our state history and to be part of this eight state launch of the ChargeWest™, West Electric Highway, the largest EV Corridor plan in the nation.”
As a leading western state, Utah continues to explore electric vehicle adoption and infrastructure deployments throughout supporting the efforts of the Western Governors Association’s Electric Vehicles Roadmap Initiative, and is also a signatory of the REV West MOU. The capital city of Utah, Salt Lake City, was recognized as Climate Action Champion Community (EPA 2014) and a pioneering city for sustainability and climate protection, demonstrating leadership and commitment for Utah and the nation’s capital cities.
“Salt Lake City leaders and residents are committed to advancing electrified transportation because it’s one of the most impactful ways to reduce emissions, improve air quality, and act on climate,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. “To that end, we’ve set aggressive goals for transitioning our own city fleet towards electric vehicles, and we’re also investing in public charging to make it easier for those who live, work and play in our city to do their part too. But we need plentiful, fast-charging infrastructure across the state and region to make it easy and convenient for drivers to take their electric vehicles on the road. We’re excited by the ChargeWest™ project to help facilitate connections across Utah and the Intermountain West and realize this goal.”
The project was administered by Utah Clean Cities, combining the efforts of over 75 partners and funded by the Department of Energy Vehicle Technologies Program, and supported by the National Association of State Energy Offices (NASEO).
“The intermountain west is becoming one of the most visited places in the United States” Tammie Bostick, Executive Director Utah Clean Cities, ChargeWest™ project lead. “We want the modern traveler to experience the same highways and byways of our western heritage with today’s new electric fuel horsepower. Drivers can ChargeWest™ with range confidence.” Consumers will see over 100 new electric vehicle models coming to market in the next two years with ranges exceeding 600 miles, which will create confidence in traveling with electric vehicles.
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About Utah Clean Cities Coalition: Utah Clean Cities Coalition exists to support organizations and fleets in their efforts to contribute to clean air by reducing vehicle emissions. Through the promotion of alternative fuels, alternative fuel vehicles, and fuel economy strategies, the coalition has worked to ease concerns about volatile gas prices and rising public and environmental health issues. Working closely with the federal and state government, as well as its stakeholders, UCCC leverages its resources to bring funding into Utah to support the development and deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure and vehicles. www.utahcleancities.org
ChargeWest™: West Electric Highway
Electrified Corridors of the Intermountain States
ChargeWest™ is a collection of Intermountain West states which are committed to improving electric corridors across the western United States; building infrastructure on rural gateway communities, state and national parks, monuments , recreation areas and scenic by-ways. The states involved are Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.