By SEAN HIGGINS• MAY 16, 2021Listen to this report as it aired on KPCW 91.7

Salt Lake City-based nonprofit Utah Clean Cities was awarded $1.8 million in federal funding last month for the advancement of electric vehicles in the state.

The $1.8 million comes from a partnership between Utah Clean Cities and the U.S. Department of Energy Clean Cities Vehicle Technologies program.

According to Utah Clean Cities, the money will go towards efforts to further the adoption of electric vehicles in the state for both personal and commercial uses.

In a prepared statement, Utah Clean Cities said the infrastructure and education for the transition to electric vehicle technology must be in place for large scale adoption of electric vehicles to be successful.

Executive Director of Utah Clean Cities, Tammie Bostick said: “This project will allow Utah Clean Cities to further develop the electrification movement for both passenger vehicles and fleet vehicles within our state while sharing valuable expertise with our regional and national partners.”

The Park City City Council formally adopted new regulations regarding their electric vehicle infrastructure last November. The changes now require dedicated parking, infrastructure, and charging stations to support electric vehicles in new development and redevelopment projects.

Going forward, 20% of all new off-street parking in the city must be electric vehicle friendly with pre-installed underground wiring in place to support future charging stations. Additionally, 5% of new parking spaces must now have an electric vehicle charging station installed.

More information on Utah Clean Cities and the Department of Energy grant can be found here.

KPCW news reports on climate change issues are brought to you by the Park City Climate Fund at the Park City Community Foundation, an initiative that engages Park City in implementing local, high-impact climate solutions that have potential to be effective in similar communities.