EBCE Staff Recognized By Governors Office For Electric Vehicle Work

For going above and beyond to streamline permitting countywide for electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS), the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) has recognized EBCE’s Distributed Energy Resources Program Manager Jessie Denver with their first “ZEVe Award”.

Cutting soft costs associated with cumbersome permitting processes is key in accelerating market transformation for charging infrastructure and EVs. In fact, according to recent research by the Rocky Mountain Institute, EVCS installation costs in the United States are three to five times the cost of the charger itself, a much higher ratio than that seen in Europe.

Starting in 2016, the legislature required every city and county to adopt an ordinance by September 2017 that created an expedited, streamlined permitting process for EVCS. Despite the 2017 deadline, many cities across the state are still not in compliance with the law, which in turn is slowing deployment of EV charging infrastructure.

To that end, EBCE has been working with member communities to ensure that installing EV charging infrastructure is as simple as possible for all stakeholders. In 2019, Ms. Denver provided technical assistance to Alameda County and the cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, Fremont, Livermore, Piedmont, and San Leandro that enabled them to achieve compliance. The cities of Albany, Dublin, Hayward, Oakland, and Pleasanton aim to join them by the end of March 2020. EBCE is also coordinating with GO-Biz to update their EVCS Permit Streamlining Map as each community’s ordinance and/or checklists are approved.

“Success with permit streamlining can only take place by bold and determined action at the local level, and this award seeks to honor those trailblazers,” GO-Biz said when awarding the ZEVe to Ms. Denver.