Truck charging stations planned for West Coast

Most of the attention on adopting electric vehicles is focused on passenger cars. California, for example, has set a goal to have at least 5 million zero-emission vehicles on the state’s highways by 2030.

But the called-for transition also includes trucks and big rigs and with that in mind, a coalition of electric utilities on the West Coast just released a study recommending the establishment of a network of charging stations for freight haulers and delivery trucks along Interstate 5 — from San Diego in the south to Washington’s border with Canada in the north.

In addition to 27 sites along the 1,300mile I-5 corridor, the proposed road map would also include 41 charging locations on adjoining highways in California, Oregon and Washington.

Called the West Coast Transit Corridor Initiative, the plan proposes a phased approach that envisions installing 27 charging sites in 50-mile intervals for medium-duty electric vehicles such as delivery vans by 2025. Then, 14 of those 27 sites would expand to accommodate charging infrastructure for big rigs by 2030.

Given that the number of electric-powered trucks currently on the road is negligible, the plan is as ambitious as it is innovative.

“The purpose of the study is to really identify what we need now and get ahead of the curve so you can start the electric planning and get that in place to really support the major electrification that these (installations) will take,” said Bill Boyce, manager of electric transportation at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, one of the power companies taking part in the initiative.

If all of the components of the plan were put into place, the price would come to around $850 million over about 10 years, said Katie Sloan, director of eMobility and Building Electrification at Southern California Edison.

Sloan said funding would come from an “all-in approach” that would include utility customers and partnerships between automakers and governments on the federal, state and local levels.

California has set a goal of deriving 100% of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045. According to a separate study conducted by Edison, reaching the target would result in 900,000 medium-duty and 170,000 heavy-duty vehicles on the state’s roads. It would also lead to about 26 million passenger zero-emission passenger cars.

As a reference point, as of late February, there were just over 700,000 zero-emission vehicles in California.

The proposed network of truck charging sites spaced every 50 miles figures to be sufficient.