State Awards $33m For Public Electrical Vehicle Charging In Santa Clara And San Mateo Counties

On August 13, the California Energy Commission (CEC) announced that San José Clean Energy (SJCE) will be one of five energy agency partners for a new electric vehicle (EV) charging station initiative.

The CEC will provide $21 million in incentives to Santa Clara County and $12 million to San Mateo County. This funding will be allocated to San José Clean Energy, Silicon Valley Clean Energy, City of Palo Alto Utilities, and Silicon Valley Power in Santa Clara County, and Peninsula Clean Energy in San Mateo County. Pending approval from their governing bodies, millions more in matching funding could be contributed to this effort, totaling up to $60 million.

This announcement comes as part of the CEC’s California Energy Vehicle Infrastructure Project (CALeVIP), which aims to install 250,000 EV chargers by 2025. Since transportation is the leading source of emissions in Silicon Valley, encouraging electric vehicles can go a long way in supporting the State’s climate goals.

Because of these funds, residents can look forward to increased availability of EV charging.

Kevin Meehan, programs lead for SJCE, hopes that the news will encourage more San José residents to transition to electric vehicles. “We know charging access is a barrier preventing greater EV adoption. For someone thinking about whether to purchase or lease an EV, this should make them confident that charging will be available for them in San José, and throughout Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.”

CALeVIP funds the installation of fast charging stations (which can charge a battery to 80% in 30 minutes) and Level 2 stations (which provides enough charging for day-to-day driving) at public, workplace and multi-family housing locations. This combination of options ensures that EV charging will be widely accessible and can meet a range of customer needs.

The project will launch in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties in spring 2020, and funds will be available for two to four years.

Read SJCE’s joint press release with the other CEC CALeVIP partners.