Second Assembly Bill (AB) 2127 Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Assessment: Assessing Charging Needs to Support Zero-Emission Vehicles in 2030 and 2035

The second Assembly Bill (AB) 2127 Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Assessment examines charging needs to support California’s zero-emission vehicles in 2030 and 2035. Pursuant to AB 2127, the California Energy Commission is required to publish a biennial report on the charging infrastructure needed for California to meet its zero-emission vehicle targets by 2030. In September 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order (EO) N-79-20, which expanded zero-emission vehicle adoption targets, including 100% zero-emission vehicle sales for light-duty vehicles and zero-emission vehicle sales and operations targets for drayage trucks and off-road vehicles and equipment by 2035; and 100% zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales and operations by 2045 where feasible. A pathway to reaching the goals reflected in EO N-79-20 has been set by the California Air Resources Board’s Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Trucks, and Advanced Clean Fleets regulations.

Because Assembly Bill 2127 requires the California Energy Commission to assess charging infrastructure needs, this report focuses on plug-in electric vehicles, which are a subset of zero-emission vehicles and include battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The analysis presented in this report projects that California will need 1.01 million chargers (including 39,000 direct current fast chargers) to support 7.1 million light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in 2030. By 2035, the state will need 2.11 million chargers (including 83,000 direct current fast chargers) to support 15.2 million light-duty plug-in electric vehicles. To support medium- and heavy-duty plug-in electric vehicles, California will need about 109,000 depot chargers and 5,500 public chargers for 155,000 vehicles in 2030, and 256,000 depot chargers and 8,500 public chargers for 377,000 vehicles in 2035.

This expansion of charging will require widespread investment in the grid and effective management of California’s electrical grid to reduce potential impacts. Improving charger and vehicle technology along with grid upgrades will make it possible to accommodate charging in ways that will minimize the grid impact.

Installing these chargers will require investments in labor and workforce training and development, as up to 71,500 job-years will be needed for charger installation by 2035. The transition to ZEVs and supporting infrastructure will support jobs of the future.