FAIRFIELD — Solano County will not have sufficient charging stations to serve the elective vehicles in the county in the immediate future or by 2035 when the state has set a goal of having no new gas-powered vehicles.
“There
will not be enough electric vehicle charging stations in Solano County to
support the state’s goals for electric vehicles identified in Executive Order
N-79-20,” the 2022 the 2021-22 Solano County Civil Grand Jury stated as it
first finding in a report on electric vehicle infrastructure.
Executive
Order N-79-20 was issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom to eliminate all new gas-powered
vehicles in the state by 2035.
The
grand jury recommendation is to have the “Solano Transportation Authority board
members commit to programs to increase the number of electric vehicle charging
stations in their jurisdictions at a rate sufficient to meet (the state
order).”
The
grand jury reported that at the end of 2020, there were 471 shared public and
private chargers in Solano County. The state Energy Commission and the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory estimated the need at 1,648 with and estimated
5,036 electric vehicles in the county. That number increased to 7,213 vehicles
by the end of 2021.
The
estimates for the number of chargers needed by the end of 2022 is 2,559. That
increases to 5,020 by 2025; to 12,612 by 2030; and to 22,535 by 2035, as
reported by the grand jury.
There
were four additional findings listed in the grand jury report, each with at
least one recommendation to meet that need.
•
FINDING 2: In 2018, the STA adopted an Electric Vehicle Transition Program and
the website (solanoev.org) for Solano County. The website is no longer working
which is of no value; the EVTP is no longer current, minimizing its value and
applicability.
The
recommendation is for “STA (to) update the EVTP and its website (solanoev.org)
to provide accurate and current information for Solano County residents.”
•
FINDING 3: In the 2018 EVTP, the STA board approved a plan to install
trailblazing signs to identify locations of electric vehicle charging stations.
As of 2022, there is no evidence of progress on that plan.
The
recommendation is that the “STA board work with jurisdictions and agencies to
install signage denoting the location of existing charging stations and to
include appropriate signage as a component of future installations.”
•
FINDING 4: The 2018 STA EVTP was intended to serve as regional guidance for the
transition to electric vehicles, but this guidance has not been effectively
communicated.
The
first recommendation is to have “STA increase staff time available for
implementation and oversight of the Electric Vehicle Transition Plan,” and the
second recommendation is to have “STA add dedicated grant writing staff to
bring this function in-house rather than relying on third-party vendors.”
•
FINDING 5 : (State laws) require all California cities and counties to develop
an expedited, streamlined permitting process for electric vehicle charging
stations. Not all jurisdictions in Solano County have complied.
The
recommendation is to have “all Solano County jurisdictions comply with
streamlined permitting requirements, including adoption of an ordinance and
checklist as required by (state law).”
Gov.
Jerry Brown established the original target of reduce greenhouse gas emissions
to 40% below the 1990 level by 2030, and set a target of having 5 million
no-emission vehicles on the California roadways by 2030 to meet his clean air
objective. The state Air Resources Board now believes 8 million vehicles are
needed to meet that emission goal.
The
report requires responses, to some or all the findings, by the county, the
seven cities and the Solano Transportation Authority. The report was issued on
June 3. No responses have been posted as of Friday on the grand jury Superior
Court website.
The
full report is available at Solano.courts.ca.gov, and clicking on the Civil
Grand Jury link.
Solano
County Daily Republic
By Todd R. Hansen
June 28, 2022
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