Durst caught the electric vehicle bug in the mid-90s, when PGE installed Portland’s first charging station outside its headquarters at the World Trade Center. At the time, California’s plans to require automakers to sell zero-emissions vehicles had kindled national interest in electric vehicles.

PGE took an early interest and bought two of Solectria’s “Force” cars — a Geo Metro body equipped with an electric drive train.

Durst was part of the team that tested the Solectrias so he could educate colleagues and curious PGE customers. He also joined the Electric Vehicle Association and in 2002 bought the first of two EVs he would own — a converted Ford Escort he’d seen parked at the charging station.

In 2008, PGE upped its interest in electric vehicles. Gas prices hit $4 a gallon. “People were calling and asking us about EVs,” Durst says, “and dealerships selling the early, limited-range models couldn’t keep them in stock.”

PGE re-vamped its own charging station and worked with local government and businesses to get nearly two dozen installed from the Portland metro area to Salem. That caught the attention of Nissan, which was planning the launch of its LEAF battery electric vehicle — the nation’s first mass produced, all-electric car since GM experimented with the EV1.

PGE worked with Nissan to forge an agreement with the state Oregon to be one of Nissan’s first LEAF launch sites. Along with the state’s progressive reputation, that partnership positioned Oregon to be part of what is now known as the EV Project, the largest deployment of electric vehicles and infrastructure in U.S. history.

Durst, a former auto mechanic with a long-held environmental ethos, is excited to play a role in the electric vehicle revolution. Now, more than ever, his work and his personal interests align.