File photo/www.gov.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO – Recently, California has seen two firsts related to zero-emission vehicles: the nation’s first solar-powered electric truck charging depot and Amazon’s largest electric truck fleet in any country.
The two milestones illustrate Governor Gavin Newsom’s commitment to building more, faster to achieve California’s world-leading climate goals. In recent years, the state has ramped up its work to build a bigger, better electric vehicle (EV) charging network to support both light-duty and heavy-duty ZEVs.
The work is critical to achieving the state’s goals of 100% ZEV new car sales by 2035 and 100% ZEV medium and heavy-duty trucks by 2045. Find more ZEV projects in your community at build.ca.gov.
“California continues to lead the way in setting world-leading climate goals. No other state has created the kind of environment where Amazon and WattEV and other businesses can lead on sustainability and take major steps forward like deploying electric trucks and charging infrastructure. California’s climate action continues powering our economy and creating jobs,” Gov. Newsom said in a statement released by his office.
Nation’s first solar-powered EV truck charging depot opens in Bakersfield
California officials helped celebrate the grand opening of WattEV’s third and largest electric truck charging depot in Bakersfield on Monday, May 6. This will be the nation’s first electric truck stop featuring a solar-powered microgrid with a battery energy storage system. The truck depot will serve heavy-duty electric trucks with routes connecting the San Joaquin Valley’s agricultural sector and growing distribution warehouse region to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, and inland destinations throughout Southern California and the West.
The depot was supported by a $5 million grant from the California Energy Commission – part of the Governor’s multi-billion-dollar California Climate Commitment.
California Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph highlighted this project’s significance in the drive to zero-emission truck transport and helping meet California’s climate goals.
World’s largest fleet of Amazon electric trucks hit Los Angeles roads
California officials joined Los Angeles Mayor Bass and partners from the Biden Administration and the Port of Los Angeles to launch Amazon’s largest fleet of heavy-duty electric trucks in the world on Tuesday, May 7. The company is rolling out nearly 50 heavy-duty electric trucks in Southern California, adding to hundreds of electric vans already deployed throughout the state.
The heavy-duty trucks are part of the company’s first- and middle-mile delivery operations – moving goods from where they’re first manufactured into the company’s fulfillment network. Amazon already has deployed hundreds of electric vans throughout the state that serve the last portion of delivery operations – delivering goods from fulfillment centers to people’s homes.
“We’re proud to launch our largest fleet of electric heavy-duty vehicles yet in California,” said Udit Madan, vice president of Worldwide Amazon Operations. “Heavy-duty trucking is a particularly difficult area to decarbonize, which makes us all the more excited to have these vehicles on the road today. We’ll use what we learn from deploying these vehicles as we continue to identify and invest in solutions to reduce emissions in our transportation network, and to impact sustainability in the trucking industry more broadly.” (CA Gov. Newsom’s Office Release)
