We are entering a new era, and California is the forerunner – as it were years decades. Everyone knows the car market is electrifying, and electric school buses are slowly making their way to school transport fleets. The utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) in California is now helping to electrify transportation at schools in more ways.
EV chargers
First, the program, “EV Charge Schools,” involves deploying somewhere between 88 and 132 EV chargers at 22 schools, and the first charger has just been installed. The chargers are not fast chargers, but rather “level 2 charging stations at school facilities and educational institutions for staff, parents and students to charge their EVs, with access varying by location.”
The loaders can enter lower education or higher education facilities. Of that, 40% should go to disadvantaged communities. However, the first installation that went up with the launch of the program is located at Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto, California.
“PG&E will help finance the cost of purchasing and installing the EV charging equipment and network fees at these schools, as well as ongoing maintenance and operations.”
Overall, the program lasts for 2 years and has $ 5.76 million in funding. “Customers who choose to own the EVSE themselves will be able to choose any equipment from the pre-qualified suppliers on PG & E’s RFQs. For customers who choose PG&E ownership, PG&E will offer the customer a choice of the two providers, ChargePoint or EVBox. So this is clearly a big boost for ChargePoint and EVBox as well.
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This is the hardware side of it. There is also an education component. The pilot program also includes EV curriculum, which helps children learn about EV-related topics. “PG&E will also develop EV and sustainability curricula for all schools in its service area together with teacher training options. The nursery school up to and including Grade 12 curriculum will enable teachers to link classroom learning to real infrastructure and help expand awareness of clean energy transport. ”
Cleaning California Transportation
Before any myths about dirty EVs work in the discussion, let’s note that the PG&E grid is fairly clean, and more EVs means big reductions in emissions. “The electricity that EVs fuel in California comes from one of the cleanest energy blends in the country. PG&E estimates that 93% of its customers’ electricity in 2021 came from greenhouse gas-free resources.”
In general, this topic has been covered for years. Electric vehicles clean the air and help keep the climate cooler. Most recently, we wrote this story on the issue: “Life Cycle Emissions of EVs & CO2: Debunking TED Talk Video.”
PG&E EV programs
With this news, PG&E wanted to point out that it has a number of EV programs to help accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. PG&E writes:
- As part of its first EV charging infrastructure program, EV Charge NetworkPG&E has installed 4,827 Level 2 EV charging ports at customer sites across Northern and Central California.
- EVFleet Schedule: Aims to install or reduce ready-made electrical infrastructure to support the adoption of 6,500 medium and heavy-duty EVs.
- EV fast loading Program for public fast chargers: Complement state- and privately-funded initiatives by installing Direct Current (DC) fast charging in highway corridors and urban areas. PG&E saw a huge demand for the program and received five times the applications for available funding.
- EV Charge Parks: Will provide charging infrastructure at California State Parks and Beaches in support of California’s electrification goals.
- Special rates, discounts and tools: PG&E offers electrical tariff plans tailored for EV drivers and provides tools such as PG & E’s EV Savings Calculator and Fleet Calculator (ev.pge.com and fleets.pge.com) to help customers understand costs when deciding whether they want to run an EV. For more information, visit page.com/ev.
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