California Governor Gavin Newsom has unveiled expanded plans for investment in electric mobility. The US state is investing an additional 6.1 billion US dollars in electric vehicles and infrastructure. This brings the total budget for this area to ten billion US dollars.
The new package builds on a $15 billion investment package signed in September 2021, which included $3.9 billion for e-mobility projects. This is the first California-wide effort to fully transition the automotive industry to electric vehicles by 2035.
Specifically, $256 million is to go towards the purchase of vehicles for low-income households and $900 million for the development of affordable ZEV infrastructure in low-income neighbourhoods. 935 million dollars are targeted for 1,000 zero-emission short-haul trucks and 1,700 zero-emission transit buses, and 1.5 billion dollars will be invested to support school transport programmes. $1.1 billion will go towards zero-emission trucks, buses and off-road equipment and refuelling infrastructure, and another $400 million will electrify ports.
Sustainable community-based transport projects to improve access to zero-emission mobility in low-income communities will be supported with $419 million. Funding will also be provided for future projects, with $200 million earmarked for pilot projects in high-carbon sectors such as shipping, aviation, rail and other off-road applications, as well as support for large-scale vehicle grid integration.
Electric vehicles have become one of California’s most important exports, with the state accounting for half of the ZEV market in the United States. The state says it wants to use its market dominance to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles around the world and dramatically reduce the state’s dependence on fossil fuels.
“California is eliminating our dependence on oil and providing a blueprint for the entire world on how to aggressively fight the climate crisis while growing the state’s clean energy economy,” says Governor Newsom.
gov.ca.gov, californiaglobe.com
Keyword: California raises e-mobility subsidies to $10 billion