The purpose of ClipperCreek's Reconnect California Program was to deploy compliant electric vehicle charging stations according to the society of automotive engineers throughout California. This Final Project Report assesses the success of the program, estimates greenhouse gas reductions, and estimates the increased potential for plug-in vehicle ownership due to the expanded network of public charging infrastructure.
This $3.5 million project was funded by the California Energy Commission and ClipperCreek to update public plug-in vehicle charging infrastructure throughout California without leaving pre-existing plug-in vehicle drivers stranded. Over the course of the project, ClipperCreek installed 762 Level 2 charging stations and 37 Level 1 charging ports at 313 sites throughout California.
ClipperCreek worked with stakeholders, utilities, and clean cities collations to identify the optimal sites to locate the charging infrastructure. The majority of the infrastructure updated through this program was at "legacy" sites, meaning that the sites had pre-existing, but out of date, plug-in vehicle charging infrastructure. This pre-existing infrastructure made the upgrade installation a straight forward process for the "legacy" sites. During planning, ClipperCreek discovered that many "legacy" site hosts were unwilling to accept the new charging equipment at their sites; this was one factor that caused the program time frame to be longer than originally planned and for the program to expand to some new sites (sites that did not previously have complete charging infrastructure).
Overall, the program was successful; ClipperCreek installed more equipment than originally planned while staying within budget. Key recommendations include: 1) Have a set list of where installations will take place (agreeable site hosts) with a list of backup sites, 2) Plan a budget for site outreach, education, and project coordination.
