On September 15, 2021 the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) released the first Biennial Zero Emission Vehicle Report. The report examines the current level of electric vehicle (EV) ownership in the state, availability of EV models, data on charging availability, state programs to support ZEV adoption, health and economic benefits of electrification, and provides recommendations to meet Oregon’s ZEV adoption targets.
In 2019, the Oregon Legislature set targets for the state to have 250,000 zero emission vehicles on the road by 2025, and have at least 90 percent of new vehicles sold be ZEVs by 2035. “Oregon has made incredible progress on zero emission vehicle adoption over the last decade,” said ODOE Director (and electric vehicle owner) Janine Benner. “In 2011, Oregon had about 300 electric vehicles on our roads – today, we have more than 38,000. We have work to do to reach our ambitious targets, and we hope the information and recommendations in this report can help us get there.”
While Oregon is not on track to meet the legislative target, the report provides six key recommendations to help meet upcoming goals in 2025 and beyond: supporting reliable and accessible charging infrastructure, improving data collection and analysis to better understand Oregon’s ZEV landscape and inform policy decisions, engaging with underserved communities to provide insight into ZEV access and awareness for all Oregonians, and coordinating between state and local agencies to develop a standardized methodology to assess the effect of ZEV adoption on greenhouse gas emissions, and considerations for adopting standardized definition and metrics to assess EV charger availability and reliability.
For more information and access to the full report, click here.