The California Energy Commission (CEC) announced that $12 million in rebates will be available to install publicly accessible electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. The funds are part of the California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project (CALeVIP) that addresses regional charging needs and supports state efforts to phase out gas-powered passenger cars by 2035.

Applications for rebates open 5 August.

Incentives from the new South Central Coast Incentive Project can cover up to 75% of EV charging equipment and installation costs. A minimum of 50% of total project funding will be invested in disadvantaged and low-income communities, according to the Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE), CALeVIP administrators.

The South Central Coast Incentive Project provides incentives for new charging stations at businesses, shopping centers, gas stations, public facilities, multifamily housing and other community locations throughout the tri-county area.

The South Central Coast Incentive Project is sponsored and funded by the Energy Commission and regional partners: Central Coast Community Energy (3CE); Clean Power Alliance (CPA); San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District (SLO County APCD); Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (Santa Barbara County APCD); and Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD).

Funding comes from the CEC’s Clean Transportation Program, which invests up to $100 million annually to support California communities, increase access to EV charging infrastructure, support innovation and accelerate the deployment of advanced transportation and fuel technologies.

CALeVIP incentives range from $3,500 to $6,000 per connector for commercial-grade Level 2 EV chargers and $30,000 to $80,000 for high-powered DC fast chargers (DCFC). The higher amounts for both charger types are available for installations in disadvantaged or low-income communities and for Level 2 chargers at multifamily housing in all communities.

Since December 2017, CALeVIP has made more than $155.9 million available for EV charging installations across ten regional incentive projects to support state goals to get 5 million electric vehicles on California roads by 2030 and to install 250,000 vehicle charging stations to service those vehicles.