Santa Monica Plans to Triple Public Electric Vehicle Charging Stations by 2020

April 26, 2018 11:49 AM
by Ariana Vito

Electric vehicles are essential to reducing carbon emissions and cleaning our air. Knowing that, Santa Monica was early in rolling out electric vehicle chargers and policies to incentivize their ownership.

Rebate programs such as the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project made EVs more affordable for drivers across all income-levels.

However, in a market that saw a 40% jump in EV sales last year, with thousands of additional units on order by our own residents, an update to the existing EV infrastructure and the accompanying policy framework became imperative. The response is the Electric Vehicle Action Plan (EVAP), which the City Council adopted in November 2017. The EVAP provides a comprehensive strategy to increase public infrastructure, facilitate private charging, update EV policies, and develop outreach programs.

The EVAP features a three-year infrastructure proposal of more than $2 million to increase the City’s public charging network from the current 89 charging ports to more than 300 by 2020, including curbside charging and fastcharging stations. The plan includes measures to increase requirements for EVready parking spaces in new construction, offers rebates to support EV charging infrastructure, and identifies a long-term plan to recoup the cost of electricity at public charging stations. Additionally, the plan focuses on expanding charging opportunities for residents who live in multi-unit residential buildings and neighborhoods, where charging infrastructure is more challenging to install.

The State of California aims to have 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025, and five million by 2030, and that’s a good thing as, based on our state’s electricity grid, EVs are seen as one of the fastest ways to clean our skies and protect against climate change. State programs such as the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project help to make EVs more affordable for drivers across all income levels.

For information about the plan, rebates and resources for electric vehicles, please visit smgov.net/electricvehicles.

This article was originally published in Seascape. 

Authored By

Ariana Vito
Sustainability Analyst