The South Coast Air Quality Management District, Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative announced today the award of a federal grant to help prepare California and its motorists for the projected growth in plug-in electric vehicles (PEV).

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Clean Cities Community Readiness and Planning for PEV and Charging Infrastructure grant will help fund a unified statewide, multi-regional approach to planning and implementation of critical PEV charging infrastructure activities in order to support and expand the market for PEVs in California.

“Electric vehicles are key to improving air quality in California and particularly in the South Coast region,” said Barry Wallerstein, executive officer of the SCAQMD.  “This collaborative partnership further strengthens California’s commitment to planning for a future of near-zero and zero-emission vehicles.”

“Transportation is one of our largest air pollution problems,” said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the BAAQMD. “Electric vehicles will help us reduce pollution around schools, our neighborhoods and on roadways making it healthier for us to ride our bikes, jog, or simply walk the dog in our communities.”

“This important grant is a clear recognition that plug-in electric vehicles will and must play a crucial role in California’s transportation future,” said Dianne Wittenberg, the Executive Director of the PEVC. “We are pleased that the federal government has chosen the California PEVC, SCAQMD and BAAQMD as recipients of this first-ever statewide, multi-region planning effort in this round of grants.”

The $1 million grant will help enhance PEV infrastructure readiness in six regions in California, which include South Coast, Bay Area, San Diego, Sacramento, the Central Coast, and San Joaquin Valley.   In addition to the creation of six regional PEV infrastructure plans and a statewide PEV infrastructure plan, PEV readiness guidelines will be created to outline a model approach for streamlined implementation of PEV infrastructure, and policy recommendations and best practices for PEV readiness.  A California PEV Coordinating Council will also be formed to coordinate the planning process and collectively address issues associated with PEV infrastructure planning.  The DOE award only funds PEV infrastructure planning but not implementation of infrastructure.

California has been a leader in planning and preparing for PEVs.  A PEV is a plug-in electric vehicle with an energy storage system that can be recharged by plugging in to an external source of electricity.  The transition from fossil fuels to PEVs will help benefit energy security, air quality, public health, climate change and the economy in California.   The PEVC was formed in 2010 to bring together a wide range of stakeholders to address the critical issues necessary to accelerate the market penetration of these ultra-clean cars. “TAKING CHARGE”, a comprehensive report released in December 2010 outlined the context and challenges this new generation of vehicles faces in California.

SCAQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (www.baaqmd.gov) is the regional agency responsible for protecting air quality in the Bay Area.

The California PEVC is a multi-stakeholder, public-private partnership that is working to ensure a strong and enduring transition to a California PEV market.  The PEVC includes elected and appointed government officials, local air districts, automakers, utilities, infrastructure providers, environmental organizations and others. The California PEVC endorses a systematic, customer-focused approach to creatively overcome challenges in this new California marketplace where consumers enthusiastically adopt clean, cutting-edge technologies. Go to www.pevcollaborative.org for more information.