AEE Praises Gov. Brown for Signing Bills That Will Accelerate California's Transition to a Zero Emission Vehicle Future

 EV bill sponsored by AEE to facilitate development of electric vehicle charging capability supporting state goal of 5 million zero-emission vehicles signed into law

SACRAMENTO, Sept. 14, 2018 — National business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) praised California Governor Jerry Brown for signing electric vehicle charging infrastructure legislation (AB 2127*) late yesterday, along with several other bills that will accelerate deployment of Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) and other advanced energy technologies across the state. 

“The collection of advanced energy transportation bills signed by Governor Brown truly blaze the trail forward on electric transportation addressing critical issues to accelerate consumer adoption of electric vehicles” said Amisha Rai, Senior Director of California Policy for AEE. “These policies will help expand the market for advanced energy business and its workforce — now more than 542,000 and expected to grow 10% this year."

Assemblymember Phil Ting authored AB 2127* to enable more efficient, scalable buildout of EV charging infrastructure (across all vehicle classes) statewide by affirming the California Energy Commission’s authority to do comprehensive planning (building upon its quarterly assessment). In addition, Governor Brown also signed AEE supported SB 957*, which expands ZEV access statewide by establishing a pathway for low-income drivers to be eligible for the carpool lane.

AEE and its many California member companies actively supported several other bills this session, most of which are still awaiting action by the Governor:

• SB 100* (de León) ratchets up the existing RPS to 60% by 2030 and requires utilities to meet a 100% clean energy standard through diverse advanced energy technologies by 2045.- Signed by Governor Brown
• AB 1796* (Muratsuchi) expands access to EV charging on rent-controlled properties (signed into law Aug. 20).
• AB 2145* (Reyes) enables new investments to modernize the state’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
• AB 2061* (Frazier) creates a more level playing field for clean fleets.
• SB 700* (Wiener) extends the state's Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), for five years, allowing new distributed energy technologies, including customer-sited energy storage to reach markets.
•  SB 237* (Hertzberg) reopens the state’s much-in-demand Direct Access program, by increasing the cap and creating a path for businesses and critical energy users statewide (including school districts, hospitals, and data centers) to access affordable clean energy (pending a CPUC assessment). 
• SB 1131* (Hertzberg) paves the way for energy efficiency investments in two of the state’s largest energy-consuming sectors, agriculture and industry, by improving a project evaluation process.
• SB 1339* (Stern) creates market opportunity for microgrids and boosts necessary grid hardening and resiliency for critical infrastructure in an age of worsening natural disasters.

In August, AEE released the latest employment data showing that California has more than 542,000 people working in advanced energy — a figure that exceeds the number of workers in hospitals (395,419), and nearly twice as many as those working at supermarkets and grocery stores (297,167) across the state. Companies surveyed expect their hiring to result in job growth of 10% across the state in 2018. California is the clear leader in advanced energy employment nationally, with more than one in every six of the 3.4 million people working in U.S. advanced energy located in California.

Earlier this year, AEE members met with gubernatorial campaigns ahead of the state primary, and released a policy roadmap to the campaigns of Democratic nominee Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Republican nominee John Cox outlining how advanced energy can drive economic growth in the state.

*Note: Access the latest bill language and action including votes, via AEE’s PowerSuite Tool with a trial subscription. Complimentary permanent access available for credentialed press, just contact me after you sign in on trial and decide to keep. Reporters tell us they love this tool!

About Advanced Energy Economy 
Advanced Energy Economy is a national association of businesses that are making the energy we use secure, clean, and affordable. Advanced energy encompasses a broad range of products and services that constitute the best available technologies for meeting energy needs today and tomorrow. AEE’s mission is to transform public policy to enable rapid growth of advanced energy businesses. AEE and its state and regional partner organizations are active in 27 states across the country, representing more than 1,000 companies and organizations in the advanced energy industry which now employs 3.4 million U.S. workers. Learn more at www.aee.net and track our latest news @AEEnet. 

Media Contact
Monique Hanis, mhanis@aee.net, 202-391-0884 
Amisha Rai, arai@aee.net, 415-640-7908