Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Assessment - AB 2127

The inaugural  Assembly Bill (AB) 2127 Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Assessment examines charging needs to support California’s plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) in 2030. Under AB 2127, the California Energy Commission (CEC) is required to publish a biennial report on the charging needs of 5 million zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2030. In September 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-79-20, which directed the Commission to update this assessment to support expanded ZEV adoption targets. 

In 2018, Executive Order B-48-18 had set a goal of having 250,000 chargers (including 10,000 direct current fast chargers) by 2025. As of January 2021, California has installed more than 70,000 public and shared chargers, including nearly 6,000 direct current fast chargers. This report finds that an additional 123,000 are planned, of which about 3,600 are fast chargers. This leaves a gap of about 57,000 installations, including 430 fast chargers, from the 250,000 charger goal for 2025.  

For passenger vehicle charging in 2030, this report projects over 700,000 public and shared private chargers are needed to support 5 million ZEVs as envisioned in the AB 2127 legislation. For the 8 million ZEVs anticipated by 2030 under the more ambitious Executive Order N-79-20 goals, nearly 1.2 million chargers will be needed for light-duty vehicles. An additional 157,000 chargers are needed to support the 180,000 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles anticipated for 2030. 

The report also finds that a portfolio of charging solutions is needed to address site-specific real estate and grid constraints. To maximize grid integration, energy resilience, and ease of use for site hosts and drivers, charging equipment hardware and software should use common connector and communication standards. Innovative business models are prioritizing higher utilization, diversified revenues, and adaptation to local environments. Finally, the report outlines the need for continued government support and funding, increased private funding, and a flexible and scalable framework to accommodate the growing charging market. 

Below are links to relevant documents regarding the analysis and results:

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Background

Assembly Bill 2127, authored by Assembly member Phil Ting and adopted in 2019 as Section 25229 of the California Public Resources Code, requires the California Energy Commission to prepare an assessment of the charging infrastructure needed to meet the 2030 goals of 5 million ZEVs and a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels. These efforts will leverage past work by the Energy Commission and others, and will be coordinated with several ongoing activities.

Relevant past work includes the Energy Commission's 2018 report California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Projections 2017- 2025 utilizing the “EVI-Pro” tool, as well as other material in the 18-EVI-01 docket log. AB 2127 efforts also leverage work on the 2019 Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) and 2020 IEPR Update, independent stakeholder reports on charging infrastructure, publicly-owned utilities’ Integrated Resources Plans, and other agency and utility activities promoting electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The Energy Commission coordinates the following activities to inform and adapt into the inaugural charging infrastructure assessment:

Workshops and stakeholder comments related to the 2020 IEPR Update, the AB 2127 charging infrastructure assessment itself, and parallel infrastructure activities including ensuring equitable access and accounting for deployed chargers
The 2020 update to the California Vehicle-Grid Integration Roadmap
Energy Commission, other agency, and utility activities promoting adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in all sectors and supporting infrastructure deployment
New work with contractors to update the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Projections (“EVI-Pro”) model and to create a new model (“HEVI-LOAD”) accounting for on-road medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles

Reports

Assembly Bill 2127 Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Assessment - Analyzing Charging Needs to Support Zero-Emission Vehicles in 2030