California Energy Commission approves $1.9 billion electric vehicle investment plan

A $1.9 billion investment plan has been approved by the California Energy Commission (CEC) that will work to accelerate progress on the state’s electric vehicle (EV) charging and hydrogen refueling goals. A portion of the investments will help to deploy infrastructure for transit zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) across California.

The plan details how the CEC’s Clean Transportation Program will spend state funding to target rural and densely populated areas to expand access to EV charging for shuttle buses and transit vehicles. The funding is part of the $48 billion dollar California Climate Commitment, which includes more than $10 billion for ZEVs and ZEV infrastructure. 

The approved funding will result in 40,000 new EV chargers statewide. The CEC notes nearly 94,000 public and shared private chargers are already in place. Combined with previous investment plans, funding from the federal government, utilities and other programs, the state of California expects to reach 250,000 chargers in the next few years, in addition to private installations and home chargers.

“We need to make sure that this is zero-emission refueling infrastructure for everybody,” said CEC’s Lead Commissioner for Transportation Patty Monahan. “By investing a bulk of funds to benefit low-income and disadvantaged communities, the state is making sure communities most in need have better access to chargers and less pollution from trucks and buses.”

The funds will become available during the next four years and distributed to projects through competitive grants. Projects include direct incentive and rebate programs for businesses, non-profit organizations, tribes and public agencies.

Clean Transportation Program highlights

Through the Clean Transportation Program, $100 million will go towards 120 projects for truck and bus charging and refueling through the Energy Infrastructure Incentives for Zero-Emission Commercial Vehicles Project.

The CEC also approved the second Assembly Bill 2127 Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Assessment. The assessment projects how much publicly available charging infrastructure is needed to meet demand. Results show:

In 2030:

• 7.1 million EVs need 1 million chargers
• 155,000 electric trucks and buses need 114,500 chargers

In 2035:

• 15.2 million EVs need 2.1 million chargers
• 377,000 electric trucks and buses need 264,000 chargers