EVs and Ethanol Cars Get $114m Push in California

25 June, 2010 09:58:00

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The California Energy Commission approved $114.3 million to help set up electric- and ethanol-powered vehicle infrastructure around the state.

Of the funds, $15.4 million comes from state coffers, $49.6 million is federal money and $49.3 million comes from private sources.

A $8 million grant with Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. (ETEC), in conjunction with Nissan, will establish up to 1,000 residential chargers, 1,300 commercial chargers, and 60 Level 3 fast chargers for electric vehicles in San Diego County.

Nissan will deploy 1,000 of its new Leaf electric cars; once the infrastructure and vehicles are in place, ETEC, the local utility, and other technical partners will collect data on the effectiveness of the technology and the impact of electric vehicles on the local grid.

The commission awarded a $3.4-million grant to a project by Coulomb Technologies of Campbell, Calif., to build 1,667 charging stations in the San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles areas, adding almost $3.4 million more in federal stimulus funds. Coulomb, already involved in a project to set up 4,600 stations for free around the country, and its partners will put up $508,000.

A third grant of $ 4 million will help to make the low-carbon, domestically-produced, ethanol-based fuel E-85 available to more Californians. To build 75 publicly accessible E-85 dispensers throughout the state, California's Department of General Services, the nation's largest fleet of state-owned vehicles, is joining with Propel Fuels, Inc., an alternative fuel supplier on the West Coast; the East Bay Clean Cities Coalition, a "grassroots" volunteer organization promoting petroleum reduction projects; CALSTART, a member-supported organization advocating high-tech, clean transportation alternatives; and the Local Conservation Corps of California. The Energy Commission is supplying $4,000,000 in AB 118 funds for the E-85 project, while the Department of Energy is providing $6,917,000 in stimulus funding. The project's participants will supply an additional match of $16,260,371.

[source: California Energy Commission]

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