The California Energy Commission in California is launching a program to provide up to $15.5 million in funding for electric vehicle charging stations with some of the funds coming from the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.
The rebates, available through the Sacramento County Incentive Project, are available for qualifying local businesses and non-profit organizations for the installation of commercial-grade Level 2 chargers and high-powered DC fast chargers.
The project is an initiative of the California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project, which works with local community partners to develop and implement regional incentive projects for charging infrastructure that support the adoption of EVs across the state.
California has set a target of having 5 million electric vehicles registered in the state by 2030 and of having 250,000 chargers to support those vehicles.
The California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project and its regional projects are implemented by the Center for Sustainable Energy and funded primarily by the California Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program.
The California Energy Commission is providing $14 million for the Sacramento project, and SMUD is providing $1.5 million. SMUD has also committed to invest all revenue generated by the project from the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program to support additional community EV charger installations.
Those revenues would come from SMUD’s participation in California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program, which provides credits for using fuels or technologies that produce low or no carbon dioxide emissions. “We have committed to take 100% of those credits and put back into the LCFS program or in programs to fund the installation of more EV chargers,” Brent Sloan, product service coordinator at SMUD, said. Use of those funds could significantly increase the funding SMUD has available for the installation of EV charging stations. “I would not be surprised if it added another $5 million or $6 million,” Sloan said.
The California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project is currently funded for $77 million, with the potential to receive up to $200 million. It has four projects under way with plans to roll out more around the state.
Sacramento County currently has more than 10,000 electric vehicles and nearly 700 electric vehicle charging stations in public locations, according to SMUD.
“Our goal is to improve the environmental, social and economic vitality of communities across our region, and increasing mobility with clean cars is one way to do that,” Ed Hamzawi, SMUD’s director of advanced energy solutions, said in a statement.
The Sacramento program will provide rebates of up to $70,000 per fast DC charger or 75% of installation cost, whichever is less. For Level 2 chargers, the program is offering rebates of up to $6,000 per connector. Additional funding – up to $80,000 for DC fast chargers and up to $6,500 for Level 2 chargers – is available for installations in disadvantaged communities. Applicants can apply for multiple charger rebates.
Level 2 chargers deliver 15 to 35 miles of electric driving range per hour of charging. DC fast chargers can power most electric vehicles and provide over 100 miles of driving range per hour of charging.
