$2.9 Billion Approved For CA Zero-Emission Vehicles Infrastructure

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In mid-December, the California Energy Commission (CEC) approved $2.9 billion in funding for California’s zero-emission transportation infrastructure. The funds will be used for the installation of more EV chargers, zero-emission trucks, school and transit buses, and hydrogen refueling technology.

Approximately 90,000 more EV chargers will be installed in California as a result of the new funding. The portion of the funding for the additional estimated 90,000 additional chargers is $900,000,000. Currently, there are about 80,000 EV chargers in California. Medium-and heavy-duty ZEV infrastructure will receive $1.7 billion in funding. 

In 2021, CEC approved $1.4 billion in funding for ZEVs and infrastructure supporting them.

The CEC’s Fuels and Transportation Division answered some questions about the new funding for CleanTechnica.

California surpassed one million ZEV sales in 2021. Do you have a breakdown of what kinds of vehicles they were?

The CEC’s Zero Emission Vehicle and Infrastructure Statistics website has breakdowns of the types of ZEVs  In particular, the “New ZEV Sales in California” page indicates 1.3M light-duty ZEVs (e.g. passenger cars, SUVs, vans, and trucks) sold through Q3 of 2022.   The page offers different ways to break these sales down by fuel type, make, and model. 

Additionally, the “Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles in California” page indicates 1,943 of these larger vehicles deployed at the end of Q2 2022. 

$1.7 billion of the funding is for medium- and heavy-duty ZEV infrastructure. What are some examples of the technology this part of the funding will purchase and install? Chargers for electric vehicles at ports? Chargers for electric cargo trucks for short-distance trips? Chargers for school buses or electric town or city buses? 

The Investment Plan allocates $1.7 billion for medium and heavy- duty ZEV infrastructure — which includes both hydrogen refueling and EV charging — over the next four years. The Budget Acts of 2021 and 2022 require the CEC to fund ZEV infrastructure for specific categories: $406 million for drayage trucks; $198.5 million for transit buses; $404.25 million for school bus ZEV infrastructure; $465.05 million for truck, bus, and off-road equipment; and $150 million for ports. The CEC is allocating an additional $44 million of Clean Transportation Program funding for medium and heavy- duty ZEV infrastructure. These funds will support the deployment of electric vehicle charging stations for thousands of ZEV drayage trucks, school buses, transit buses, and other medium- and heavy-duty vehicles within the state.

Is there an estimate of how many jobs might be created by the new funding or how many existing jobs it might support? 

In a report commissioned by the Electric Transportation Community Development Corporation (ET Community), titled “Workforce Projections to Support Battery Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Installation,” an estimate of jobs created was conducted. The report shows that the associated light-duty vehicle charging infrastructure would generate workforce needs of ~38,200 to ~ 62,400 job-years over the period from 2021 to 2031 in California, based on the baseline and high electric vehicle adoption scenarios noted in the First AB 2127 EV Charging Infrastructure Assessment. The associated medium- and heavy-duty vehicle infrastructure would generate ~9,100 additional job-years from 2021-2030 in addition to the LDV infrastructure workforce needs. Per the report, the nationwide buildout of 500,000 electric vehicle DC Fast chargers by 2030 (Biden administration’s infrastructure goals) would generate workforce needs of ~28,950 job-years from 2021 to 2030.

How can individuals and business owners find out about the direct incentive and rebate programs? 

The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) has a very good website that captures many California vehicle and infrastructure incentive programs that can be accessed by individuals and business owners: https://business.ca.gov/industries/zero-emission-vehicles/zev-funding-resources/ 

Is increasing California EV charging infrastructure part of the state’s overall climate change planning? 

Zero-emissions vehicle charging (and hydrogen fueling infrastructure) are critical to meeting California’s clean transportation goals. Public, private, and utility investments have played essential roles in deploying the existing charging and fueling infrastructure. The state is committed to doing its part through policy, targeted investment, and continued coordination across state agencies, utilities, and the private market. 

The California Zero-Emission Vehicle Market Development Strategy lays out the overall strategy to meet California’s Zero-Emission Vehicle goals. The strategy has four market pillars (vehicles, infrastructure, end users, and workforce). The coordination is also represented in the Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Plan, or ZIP, developed in collaboration with several state agencies, is intended to support and provide a fuller description of the “infrastructure” pillar. The ZIP describes the state’s near- and long-term actions, in collaboration with the private market, to ensure that zero-emission vehicle infrastructure will meet the needs of the growing zero-emission vehicle market. 

Additionally, the California Air Resources Board’s 2022 Scoping Plan lays out the sector-by-sector roadmap for California to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, including the electrification of the transportation system. The Scoping Plan is an actionable plan to identify and align programs and policies to achieve California’s climate targets. 

Are there any estimates as to how much cleaner air in California cities might be as California achieves EV thresholds such as 2 million EVs in the state? 

Below are CARB’s estimated pollutant reductions with the Advanced Clean Cars II milestones versus a “business-as-usual” scenario. Note that “Upstream emissions associated with the generation of electricity used for ZEV and PHEVs (i.e., emissions from power plants that supply electricity to the grid) are considered […]”  

From CARB’s Final Environmental Analysis for the Advanced Clean Car II Program (August 24, 2022, pp. 82–84, https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/regact/2022/accii/acciifinalea.docx

Do you know when all the new chargers will be installed, and where? 

The inaugural AB 2127 Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Assessment (full report available online here) investigated the need for chargers at a range of locations. The high scenario for ZEV adoption showed that to support 8 million light-duty ZEVs by 2030, California would need to install 327 thousand chargers at commute destinations, 470 thousand chargers for “public” charging (at shopping, entertainment, and other destinations), and 330 thousand chargers at multifamily housing locations. This report also provides detailed results by year and by county (in Appendix C) and for a range of alternative scenarios (in Appendix D). Updated results for light- and medium/heavy duty charging needs through 2035 will be published as part of the second AB 2127 Assessment later this year. We use these needs assessments to guide our funding and work towards these goals.  

Do you have a breakdown for how many slow and fast chargers? 

For light-duty vehicles, the first AB 2127 Assessment high scenario found that California will need 1.1 million “slow” (L1 and L2) shared chargers and 37 thousand “fast” DCFC chargers. The need for fast chargers was spread across three use cases: routine intra-regional travel (30,600 chargers), long-distance / interregional travel (4,800 chargers), and chargers for transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft (2,100 chargers). Updated results will be published as part of the second AB 2127 Assessment.


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Jake Richardson

Hello, I have been writing online for some time, and enjoy the outdoors. If you like, you can follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakeRsol

Jake Richardson has 1021 posts and counting. See all posts by Jake Richardson