Overcoming Obstacles to EV Charging Expansion

An expert from Peninsula Clean Energy and researchers from Stanford University will describe innovative ideas for overcoming barriers to building out a much-needed network of public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations during a free “Happy Hour” program on Wednesday, August 30, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. Hosted by Sustainable San Mateo County, Happy Hours bring community members together to discuss sustainability issues in an informal setting. Pre-registration is required at https://bit.ly/HappyHourAug2023.

Speakers during the program, “Overcoming Barriers to EV Charging Expansion,” will be:

• Phillip Kobernick, Senior Programs Manager of Transportation at Peninsula Clean Energy, who will discuss the organization’s EV Ready Program, which recently hit the milestone of installing 500 EV chargers. A goal of this program is to demonstrate how to build an equitable EV charging network at a lower cost. He will also highlight Peninsula Clean Energy’s other EV-related programs, including its Used EV rebate.
• Esther Conrad, research manager at Stanford’s Bill Lane Center for the American West, who is leading a group of Stanford students doing research to better understand the build-out of a statewide network of publicly accessible EV charging stations across California. This project includes interviews with cities and counties in the Bay Area and across California to learn what's needed to streamline permitting and to identify other barriers to expanding publicly available charging stations.

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced that, for the first time, 25 percent of all new cars sold in California during the second quarter of 2023 were zero-emission vehicles. But many would-be EV owners have “range anxiety,” fearing they won’t be able to find a charging station when they need it. Lots more EV chargers must be available to the public in order to achieve the state’s mandate that all new cars are zero-emission vehicles by 2035.

Founded in 1992, Sustainable San Mateo County is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to a vision of a sustainable future for everyone in the county. Its mission is to drive impactful action on economic, environmental and social equity issues that leads to sustainable practices and improves the long-term health of San Mateo County. For more information, visit https://sustainablesanmateo.org.