$6 Million Up for Grabs to Strengthen California's EV Infrastructure

With the most zero-emissions vehicles on the road and the country's first electric school bus, California's new competitive grant program will significantly augment its electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure.
A big part of that is making even more charging stations available. The California Energy Commission (CEC) began soliciting for a $6 million grant program this month that will fund the construction of charging stations across the state. Applicants have until Jan. 28 to file proposals.
California, which already has nearly 1,500 charging stations, is offering the grant funds in four categories. About two-thirds of the $6 million available will support a single site or combination of destination, corridor or workplace charging. Destinations include attractions or shopping centers, while corridor charging would be ideal for long drives along the state's coast.
"Examples [of corridor charging] include charging locations that would allow drivers of electric vehicles to more rapidly travel between San Diego and the Los Angeles area, the Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area, the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento, Sacramento and Fresno, etc.," according to the CEC.
The grant funding originates from California's Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology (ARFVT) program, which was made possible by the 2007 passing of Assembly Bill 118. According to the CEC, the ARFVT program has an annual budget of about $100 million. The funding is meant to:
- Reduce California’s use and dependence on petroleum transportation fuels and increase the use of alternative and renewable fuels and advanced vehicle technologies.
- Produce sustainable alternative and renewable low-carbon fuels in California.
- Expand alternative fueling infrastructure and fueling stations.
- Improve the efficiency, performance and market viability of alternative light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicle technologies.
- Retrofit medium- and heavy-duty on-road and non-road vehicle fleets to alternative technologies or fuel use.
- Expand the alternative fueling infrastructure available to existing fleets, public transit and transportation corridors.
- Establish workforce training programs and conduct public outreach on the benefits of alternative transportation fuels and vehicle technologies.
Visit EcoWatch’s TRANSPORTATION page for more related news on this topic.
California is bracing for rare January wildfires this week amid damaging Santa Ana winds coupled with unusually hot and dry winter weather.
High winds, gusting up to 80- to 90 miles per hour in some parts of the state, are expected to last through Wednesday evening. Nearly the entire state has been in a drought for months, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which, alongside summerlike temperatures, has left vegetation dry and flammable.
Utilities Southern California Edison and PG&E, which serves the central and northern portions of the state, warned it may preemptively shut off power to hundreds of thousands of customers to reduce the risk of electrical fires sparked by trees and branches falling on live power lines. The rare January fire conditions come on the heels of the worst wildfire season ever recorded in California, as climate change exacerbates the factors causing fires to be more frequent and severe.
California is also experiencing the most severe surge of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with hospitals and ICUs over capacity and a stay-at-home order in place. Wildfire smoke can increase the risk of adverse health effects due to COVID, and evacuations forcing people to crowd into shelters could further spread the virus.
As reported by AccuWeather:
In the atmosphere, air flows from high to low pressure. The setup into Wednesday is like having two giant atmospheric fans working as a team with one pulling and the other pushing the air in the same direction.
Normally, mountains to the north and east of Los Angeles would protect the downtown which sits in a basin. However, with the assistance of the offshore storm, there will be areas of gusty winds even in the L.A. Basin. The winds may get strong enough in parts of the basin to break tree limbs and lead to sporadic power outages and sparks that could ignite fires.
"Typically, Santa Ana winds stay out of downtown Los Angeles and the L.A. Basin, but this time, conditions may set up just right to bring 30- to 40-mph wind gusts even in those typically calm condition areas," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll.
For a deeper dive:
AP, LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, Weather Channel, AccuWeather, New York Times, Slideshow: New York Times; Climate Signals Background: Wildfires, 2020 Western wildfire season
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