By Kallie Hinton
With the rising popularity of electric vehicles, Prius drivers have started to feel like they’re cruising in a Hummer. Since 2012, downtown Winslow has had two electric vehicle (EV) Blink charging stations. One, hosted by the City of Bainbridge Island, is located in front of Bon Bon Confections and Blackbird Bakery. The second is hosted by Town & Country Markets and is located in their parking lot. There is a 50/50 revenue sharing split between the stations’ hosts and ECOtality, the private company responsible for the Blink EV chargers.
During the first seven months of this year, Town & Country has had 156 individual charges at its Bainbridge charging station, said Tony D’Onofrio, sustainability director at Town & Country Markets. “We’re considering adding more charging stations when remodeling the Bainbridge store later this year,” he added. Data for the Winslow Way charging station was unavailable.
Bainbridge Island and the greater Seattle area is an important market for electric vehicles, according to Amy Hillman, Blink’s Northwest sales manager. There is a growing population of EVs, especially Nissan Leafs, in the area, she said. Washington state data from Blink shows a 19 percent increase in EV charging station usage between the last quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013.
