The workshop will be broadcast through WebEx for those unable to attend at the Energy Commission headquarters at 1516 9^th Street, Sacramento, CA. Agenda, presentations and details on how to participate are available.

The workshop will be followed by an invitation-only event where further panel discussions will occur at the University of California, Davis. To take advantage of the many electric vehicle high technology executives in town for the event, the US Department of Energy will host an invitation-only round table focused on medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicle infrastructure on April 27 in Sacramento.

Background. Beginning in 2008, the Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP) has funded the installation of 7,490 electric vehicle (EV) Level 1, Level 2, and DC fast chargers at a variety of residential, multi-unit dwelling, commercial, workplace, and connector locations throughout the state. This represents roughly 80% of EV chargers installed in California since that date.

The Energy Commission also contributed funding to the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to provide rebates for 10,700 light-duty electric vehicles and 150 medium- and heavy-duty hybrid electric trucks as part of the initial vehicle incentive program. As of February 2016, electric vehicle cumulative growth exceeds 189,000 in California (or 45% of US electric vehicle sales), and includes the first 29 advanced electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicle technology demonstration projects.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved two investor owned utility pilot projects and continues to deliberate on a third utility proposal to allow utility rate basing of EV infrastructure costs that would significantly increase the number of EV chargers installed in the state. The CPUC has also reached a settlement agreement to dedicate $100 million for investment in electric vehicle charger installations in California.

The Energy Commission elicited testimony and analytical studies from several stakeholders in the 2013 and 2014 Integrated Energy Policy Reports (IEPR), who noted the plausibility of increasing alternative and renewable transportation fuels two- to six-fold by 2020 compared to 2008.

The ARB concurred with this possibility through independent illustrative scenarios developed for the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. In adopting the 2014 IEPR, the Energy Commission recommended exploring methods to better incorporate data collection, analysis and lessons learned from past ARFVTP investments to evaluate projects, market growth and business plans for target technologies and sectors. The 2014 IEPR also recommended action to identify, assess and initiate funding strategies that further leverage funds commensurate with the commercialization phases of technology and project development.

This workshop is an initial step to establish an annual Technology Merit Review for ARFVTP projects and technology sectors, which might adopt and adapt aspects of similar activities conducted by the US Department of Energy.