California will invest another $2.9 billion in charging facilities, and ban the sale of fuel vehicles in 2035

IT House reported on December 18 that the California state government has approved a $2.9 billion investment plan to accelerate the realization of the state’s 2025 goal of building electric vehicle charging piles and hydrogen refueling stations.

The investment will add 90,000 new electric vehicle chargers across the state, more than double the 80,000 already installed, according to plans approved by the California Energy Commission (CEC) Dec. 14. Combined with funding from utilities and other projects, the investments are on track to secure the state’s goal of deploying 250,000 chargers by 2025, the California Energy Commission estimates.

California will allocate $1.7 billion to develop charging infrastructure for medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles and $900 million for light-duty electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The plan also includes $118 million for the manufacture of zero-emission vehicles and $90 million for hydrogen refueling infrastructure.

The funding will support the deployment of thousands of zero-emission trucks, school buses and buses “to communities most impacted by pollution from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles,” the agency said.

The California Energy Commission’s Clean Transportation Initiative has seen a 30-fold increase in funding compared to 2019, and the most recent state budget will provide an additional $2.4 billion in spending over the next four years. At least 50% of these funds will be used to benefit priority populations.

Last month, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a $2.6 billion supplement to its clean transportation incentives, consumer vehicle rebates and investment in heavy and off-road equipment.

The two plans are part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $54 billion California climate pledge. In August, California introduced a rule requiring all new cars sold in the state to be electric or plug-in hybrids by 2035.

At the federal level, the US Department of Transportation has approved EV charging station programs in all 50 states, Washington, and Puerto Rico, covering approximately 75,000 miles of highway. The $1 trillion infrastructure bill provides $5 billion to help states install EV chargers along interstates within five years. States now have access to more than $1.5 billion in funding to help build electric vehicle charging stations. Earlier this year, the White House announced it had approved 35 of the 50 state plans.