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The idea of an electric vehicle sounds great, but about 61% of people say the lack of electric vehicle charging infrastructure is the reason they would not switch to an electric vehicle. As part of trying to change that, California has announced their plan to fix this issue, hoping to cut down on their state's emissions.
The California Electric Commission (CEC) is set to invest $2.6 Billion to add 90,000 electric vehicle chargers throughout the state. Of the $2.6 billion, the CEC expects to spend $900 million on chargers designed for light-duty electrical vehicles. Another $1.7 billion will be put towards chargers that support medium to heavy duty, zero-emission vehicles, including ones powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
California's goal with all of this: to have 250,000 chargers deployed by 2025.
By adding more chargers, California hopes to give more individuals the confidence to invest in electric vehicles and continue the state's climate change plan.
In 2022, following an announcement from California state governor Gavin Newsom, the California Air Recourses Board (CARB), said that by the year 2035, all cars sold in the state of California have to be either fully electric or plug-in hybrids. The CARB proposed a $2.6 billion investment plan to incentivize people and businesses to switch to electric vehicles.
The usage of electrical vehicles will help to cut down on global emissions, but it will add to the stress that is already being placed on the electric grid. This transition can only be successful if the issue of the grid is solved beforehand. Charging stations are a great idea on the surface level, but how does California (or any state for that matter) actually supply the power to them?
Well, maybe that's where we come in.
How GridSwitch plans to impact the renewable vehicle industry
GridSwitch is a company focused on building renewable energy infrastructure that will utilize microgrid technology to meet your company's specific needs and ensure the best output for your business. In 2022, GridSwitch partnered with KorDev, an all-in-one tech solutions and marketing company, to create a mergers and acquisition company called GridKor.
GridKor has placed an initial focus on the acquisition of line haul trucking companies. Their first acquisition consisted of 35 semi-trucks, drivers, and routes and marked the beginning of GridKor Trucking and Logistics.
With GridSwitch being a part of the equation, plans were immediately discussed to begin to transition fleets of fuel-based trucks to electric trucks. With that, infrastructure across the country will have to be put in place in order to supply energy to trucks traveling along these cross-country routes.
By 2025, GridSwitch plans to start moving pieces to create that infrastructure, most likely utilizing microgrid technology to supply each station to charge the trucks. We hope to expand this service beyond GridKor's fleets in an attempt to allow the trucking industry to be greener over the coming decades.
With California's initial $2.6 billion investment, we are seeing the first step of accepted transition, and we hope to follow that up in an even bigger way over the next few years.