Skycharger, one of the nation's leading developers of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, has been conditionally awarded a $10 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to design, construct, and operate two publicly accessible electric truck stops along I-5 in Southern California.
The grant, conditionally awarded under CEC's CRITICAL PATHS 2.0 solicitation, will help fund deployment of 32 high-capacity fast charging stations in Kettleman City, CA and Lebec, CA, capable of charging 64 heavy-duty trucks at a time, at rates of at least 200 kilowatts (kW). The stations together will be supported by 5.1 megawatts (MW) of solar and 8 megawatt-hours (MWh) of battery energy storage to maximize sustainability and resiliency. Skycharger's CRITICAL PATHS 2.0 proposal was the highest ranked among applicants proposing electric charging infrastructure, conditionally awarded $10 million of the $40 million awarded under the program.
"We are grateful to the California Energy Commission and the State of California for their unwavering support for transportation electrification, including heavy-duty trucks," said Andy Karetsky, President of Skycharger. "Electric trucks mean cleaner air, less noise, lower operating costs, and abundant benefits for workers and communities wherever trucks travel and charge. The future is still electric."
Supporting new truck fleets with reliable and high-speed charging infrastructure will enable acceleration of electric vehicle adoption. The Kettleman City and Lebec sites experience significant daily truck traffic, with over 14,000 trucks (including over 11,000 heavy-duty trucks) per day passing the Kettleman City site and over 23,000 trucks (including over 17,700 heavy-duty trucks) passing the Lebec site. These are some of the highest truck traffic volumes along the I-5 corridor, making them ideal for delivering maximum benefit to the trucking industry.
Skycharger's CRITICAL PATHS 2.0 award builds on its selection by the Port of San Diego (POSD) to construct a 70-port electric truck charging hub (eHub) on Port property, which will be paired with a 1.75 MW solar array, 5 MWh battery energy storage system, convenience store, and a robust community benefits program. The CEC awarded Skycharger a $10 million "Innovative Charging Solutions" grant in August, 2024 to support the POSD eHub. Skycharger's POSD project includes a pioneering "Trucking as a Service" offering to help independent owner-operators and small fleets make an affordable transition to cleaner vehicles with a clear path to ownership. Skycharger's electric truck charging hubs in Kettleman City and Lebec will enable electric Port-serving trucks to top off batteries while making deliveries north of the LA Area.
Skycharger will construct the new electric truck stops in partnership with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and Burns & McDonnell, an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) firm. The Kettleman City and Lebec locations are in disadvantaged and low-income communities 104 miles apart, which will each benefit from the project, including job opportunities and cleaner air. Skycharger's project is expected to reduce emissions by more than a million metric tons of carbon dioxide over project lifetime and eliminate all tailpipe emissions of diesel vehicles replaced by electric trucks, including ozone and particulate matter (PM 2.5) pollution.
Skycharger's electric truck stops are expected to create over 90 well-paying, "high road", jobs under Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). The PLAs establish terms for wages, working conditions, and dispute resolution mechanisms, ensuring fair labor practices and allowing workers the freedom to join unions and benefit from collective bargaining. IBEW will recruit graduates of pre-apprenticeship programs, Helmets to Hardhats, the Veteran Electrical Entry Program, and high school and community college students, into its apprenticeship programs, which will in turn supply workers to construct Skycharger's electric truck charging hubs. Skycharger will prioritize local hiring in Kern County (Lebec), Kings County (Kettleman City) and neighboring counties. By partnering with IBEW Local Unions serving the project area, local electricians and apprentices will be employed, supporting workforce continuity for this project and related electrification efforts.
Skycharger is also creating a community fund, which will disperse $100,000 per year to fund scholarship programs and other community benefit programs. The annual contribution includes a 1.5% escalation, meaning the community fund will provide $2.24 million over the Project's 20-year lifetime.
About Skycharger:
Skycharger, a wholly owned subsidiary of Skyview Ventures, owns and operates a growing network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Established in 2013, the company owns and operates charging stations for light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and has stations operating in seven states. The network includes the West Coast Highway Corridor (WCHC) DC Fast Charging Network located at highway exits throughout California. The WCHC is the fourth largest DC fast charging network in California. The company recently began operations at its first fleet charging hub for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and is running over 100 trucks out of that hub.
For more information, visit skycharger.com.
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