The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved a $2.9 billion investment plan to meet the state's goals for electric vehicle charging and hydrogen fueling by 2025. The initiative calls for 90,000 new chargers across California.
There are currently 80,000 chargers operating in the state, the CEC said. Funding from utilities, combined with other programmes and investments, is likely to ensure the US meets its goal of deploying 250,000 chargers by 2025, the commission believes.
California will allocate $1.7 billion to support zero-carbon medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
The plan would expand access to hydrogen charging and refueling to individuals, businesses and government agencies, which would support the manufacturing ecosystem and create additional jobs, said CEC Lead Transportation Commissioner Patty Monahan.
In September, the US Department of Transportation approved a project for electric vehicle charging stations covering more than 120,000 km of highways in the US and Puerto Rico. Federal law allows states to allocate $1.5 billion to establish electric charging stations.
California requires all cars sold to be electric or hybrid by 2035. US President Joe Biden has ordered 500,000 new charging stations for electric vehicles. He expects that by 2030 half of all new cars sold in the country will not use petrol or diesel.