San Francisco's push towards an all-electric future just got a $5 million boost from the California Energy Commission. Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Board of Supervisors announced a significant grant to expand the city's electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This grant, paired with a $2.8 million contribution from the city, will add 403 new electric vehicle charging ports at numerous city-owned facilities. This expansion is set to facilitate charging around 800 light-duty electric vehicles, effectively increasing the proportion of zero-emission vehicles in the city's non-public safety fleet by nearly 40%.
In a determined move to accelerate the city's green agenda, the charge to embrace a cleaner transit system has been pushed further. "We all need to do our part to support the environment—and the city is leading the way," Mayor Lurie told the City and County of San Francisco. "This grant will allow us to increase the share of zero-emission city vehicles from 8% to nearly half of our fleet—that’s real momentum." It is a strategic bid to guarantee the city's timeline towards becoming an all-electric, net-zero emission city by 2040, as outlined in the Climate Action Plan released in 2021.
City Administrator Carmen Chu spotlighted the lack of necessary infrastructure as a stumbling block in the city's road to a greener fleet. "With this grant and our fleet assessment, we now have the knowledge and ability to install over 400 chargers across the city to power city vehicles," she effectively stressed, per the City and County of San Francisco. The estimated coverage of 40% of the charging requirements for the city's common fleet signals a dual benefit scenario—not only advancing environmental conservation but also cutting down on long-term operating expenses.
The Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman earlier emphasized the urgent need to tackle auto emissions and saw the investment in EV infrastructure as a pivotal step towards a cleaner municipal fleet. "In my time on the Board I have worked to expand EV charging infrastructure citywide, and this investment is an important step toward a cleaner, fully electrified municipal fleet," he explained to the City and County of San Francisco.
