Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to undertake various actions in furtherance of meeting the state’s clean energy and pollution reduction objectives, including actions related to electric vehicles. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board (state board) and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), to prepare a statewide assessment of fuel cell electric vehicle fueling infrastructure and fuel production needed to support the adoption of zero-emission trucks, buses, and off-road vehicles at levels necessary for the state to meet the goals and requirements of Executive Order No. N-79-20 and any state board regulatory action that requires or allows zero-emission vehicles in the heavy-duty vehicle and off-road sectors. Existing law also requires the Energy Commission, working with the state board and the PUC, to prepare a statewide assessment of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure needed to support the levels of electric vehicle adoption required for the state to meet its goals of putting at least 5,000,000 zero-emission vehicles on California roads by 2030, and of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.

This bill would require the assessment of the fuel cell electric vehicle fueling infrastructure and fuel production to additionally include an assessment of storage and transport facilities, and the assessment of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure to additionally include electric system infrastructure and electric generation. The bill would expand the scope of the latter assessment to include the electric vehicle charging infrastructure, electric system infrastructure, and electric generation needed for the state to meet the goals of Executive Order No. N-79-20 and any state board regulatory action that requires or allows zero-emission vehicles in the heavy-duty vehicle and off-road sectors. The bill would require both assessments to identify any barriers to the deployment of hydrogen infrastructure and any barriers to the deployment of electric infrastructure, respectively, for medium- and heavy-duty fleets and recommendations for addressing those barriers. The bill would require the Energy Commission to publish a determination regarding the adequacy of completed or planned charging or fueling sites for the 5 years following the completion of the initial statewide assessment and the findings of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure assessment, as provided. The bill would also require the Energy Commission to identify any charging or fueling site deficiencies and categorize those deficiencies by refueling speed and by type of facility, as either a public facility or a private facility. The bill would require the Energy Commission to update the electric vehicle charging infrastructure assessment and the determination at least once every 2 years.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the state board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. Existing law requires the state board, at least every 5 years, as provided, in consultation with the Department of Transportation, the Energy Commission, and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, to update the state board’s 2016 mobile source strategy to include a comprehensive strategy for the deployment of medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles in the state for the purpose of bringing the state into compliance with federal ambient air quality standards and reducing motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions from the medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicle sector. Existing law requires the state board to recommend reasonable and achievable goals for reducing emissions from medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles by 2030 and 2050, respectively, as part of the comprehensive strategy based on factors that include specified goals.

This bill would require those goals to include the goals established in Executive Order No. N-79-20 for the transition of medium- and heavy-duty fleets to zero-emission vehicles. The bill would also require the state board’s updates to the mobile source strategy to include a strategic plan to meet the deadlines in Executive Order No. N-79-20 and would also require the state board, in developing the comprehensive strategy, to incorporate the findings of the above-described assessments.