Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan for Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties (Central Coast)

This Plug-In Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan for the California Central Coast guides the development of Plug-in Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure for the tri-counties, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. The deployment of Plug-in Electric Vehicle Chargers on the Central Coast will encourage local drivers to consider purchasing Plug-in Electric Vehicles, which is the ultimate goal of this planning effort. The major benefits of adopting Plug-in Electric Vehicles include improvement in local air quality, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that impact climate change, increase in the use of renewable energy such as photovolataic solar energy, more efficient use of existing grid energy by off-peak Plug-in Electric Vehicle charging, and increase in energy security by reducing the use of petroleum fuels, which may be imported from unstable parts of the world.

This Plan is intended to encourage and facilitate mass adoption of Plug-in Electric Vehicles in the tri-county Central Coast region. The installation of Plug-in Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure near major highways in the tri-counties is a critical factor to support this goal. The development of this plan has coincided with the construction of almost 200 Level 2 charging stations and several Direct Current Fast Charge stations along the Central Coast. This initial infrastructure has not only provided range-extending electrical miles for Plug-in Electric Vehicles, but it also serves to showcase the technology and raise public awareness.