Oregon Public Broadcasting

Recharging your electric car just got a lot faster. Portland is the first city in the country to unveil a public half-hour charging station for the vehicles.

Amelia Templeton / OPB

Gov. Ted Kulongoski unveils an EV charging station in Portland.

That quiet before the clapping is the sound of Oregon’s governor Ted Kulongoski turning on the engine of a Nissan LEAF and driving away.

Oregon is one of five states in a federal pilot project developing infrastructure for electric cars.

Kulongoski charged the LEAF at a high voltage rapid charging station.

The stations cut the time it takes to charge a car from 8 hours to about a half hour. They are already popular in Japan 

Kulongoski said dozens stations more will be installed between Portland and Eugene in the next year.

Ted Kulongoski: “We’re covering the 1-5 corridor so that you will be able to not only have an urban automobile but you will be able to go down the valley to Eugene, to the Ducks game.” 

The LEAF gets 100 miles per charge. Nissan says the car will cost about $25,000 after a federal tax credit. 

The car will available in Oregon and a handful of other markets this December.