2021 q2 report to california air resources board

2021 Q2 Report to California Air Resources Board Public Version

August 16, 2021

2 2021 Q2 Report to California Air Resources Board

Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2. A Network of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations .................................................................................. 4

2.1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 4

2.2. Acquiring Sites in Station Target Zones ............................................................................................. 4

2.2. Constructing a Network of DC Fast Charging Stations ....................................................................... 5

2.2.3. Ultra-fast Electric Vehicle Charger Technology .............................................................................. 7

2.2.3.1. Chargers and Equipment Ordered and Delivered ........................................................................ 8

2.2.4. Electrify America Ultra-Fast Charging Station Operations .............................................................. 9

2.3. Level 2 Rural, Workplace, and Multiunit Dwelling Charging Stations ............................................... 9

2.3.1. Charger Technology ...................................................................................................................... 10

3. Education, Awareness, and Marketing ............................................................................................... 11

3.1. Brand-Neutral ZEV Education and Awareness Media Campaign ..................................................... 11

3.2. Low-Income and Disadvantaged Community-level Investments .................................................... 12

3.3. Workforce Development and STEM Education ............................................................................... 14

3.4. Sponsorships .................................................................................................................................... 16

3.5. Branded Marketing .......................................................................................................................... 16

4. Cycle 1 Sacramento Green City Initiative ............................................................................................ 17

4.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 17

4.2. Infrastructure ................................................................................................................................... 17

4.3. ZEV Shuttle / Bus .............................................................................................................................. 17

4.4. Car-Sharing Services ......................................................................................................................... 18

4.4.1. GIG Car Share ............................................................................................................................ 18

4.4.2 Envoy .......................................................................................................................................... 18

4.4.3. AAA Electric Vehicle Subscription ............................................................................................. 19

4.5. Disadvantaged and Low-Income Impact .......................................................................................... 20

5. Vendor Survey ..................................................................................................................................... 21


1. Introduction Electrify America, LLC, is investing $2 billion in financially sustainable business opportunities that

advance the use of Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) technology, $800 million of which must be spent in

California. Electrify America has moved rapidly to implement its ZEV Investment Commitment, and now

operates the largest open network of DC fast chargers in the United States.

As detailed below, Electrify America’s activities in the second quarter of 2021 (Q2) were focused on

implementing the Cycle 2 California ZEV Investment Plan and finalizing the Cycle 3 California ZEV

Investment Plan.

During Q2, Electrify America opened its

600th station nationwide, and added 17

new public charging stations with 70

individual DC fast chargers in California.

Electrify America also saw a dramatic rise

in station utilization, as Californians began

to travel again, new EV models with

complimentary Electrify America charging

came to market, and EV sales grew.

Electrify America continued investing in

the “Normal Now” brand-neutral digital

education and awareness campaign, which

recorded more than 35 million

impressions in the quarter. And Electrify

America also continued sponsoring effective community-level EV education efforts, including workforce

development; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education programs; and outreach to

underrepresented groups.

The organizations that received Electrify America investment in 2018 and 2019 as part of the

Sacramento Green City Initiative continued to operate their services in Q2.

Finally, Electrify America released the Cycle 3 California ZEV Investment Plan in May, and we welcomed

the California Air Resources Board’s unanimous approval in June. On June 29th, Electrify America CEO

Giovanni Palazzo, Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti, Long Beach Mayor Garcia, and CARB Chair Randolph

gathered to thank the 73 organizations that expressed support to CARB for the plan, and to celebrate

the selection of the City of Long Beach and Los Angeles’ Wilmington neighborhood as Electrify America’s

second Green City.

Electrify America publishes this quarterly report to share the progress and impact of its Cycle 1 and Cycle

2 investments.

Figure 1 - Electrify America Celebrates the Long Beach-Wilmington Green City Selection


2. A Network of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

2.1. Introduction

As laid out in the Cycle 2 California ZEV Investment Plan, Electrify America is developing a network of

electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along highly traveled highway corridors, on critically important

regional routes, and in nine carefully selected metropolitan areas (Figure 2). The planned network, when

combined with investments made in Cycle 1, will consist of more than a thousand DC fast charging

dispensers at more than 200 charging station sites built or under development in California. The

network deploys cutting-edge technology to deliver convenient customer-centric charging, connecting

California to the Electrify America national network in 45 other states. Electrify America anticipates that

35% of its business-driven investments within California will be in low-income or disadvantaged

communities (LIC/DAC).1

2.2. Acquiring Sites in Station

Target Zones

In Q2, Electrify America continued

pursuing access to sites to host

Cycle 2 DC fast charging stations.

In each target zone, Electrify

America considers multiple real

estate leads, based on their unique

attributes, such as the availability

of three-phase power, site lighting,

and access to customer amenities.

Throughout the site acquisition

process, Electrify America works closely with 21 electric utilities in California to identify efficient

locations from a grid perspective and those with the lowest service connection costs for Electrify

America. To acquire high-quality sites, Electrify America has also entered into master agreements with

57 large-scale real estate owners that provide access to sites nationwide.2 Electrify America also

collaborates with owners of desirable individual properties across California.

1 Electrify America uses definitions for low-income and disadvantaged communities established by the State of California, which are published and mapped by CARB on its “Disadvantaged and Low-income Communities Investments” webpage: https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/auctionproceeds/communityinvestments.htm 2 Electrify America’s announced real estate station site hosts with multiple stations include Albertsons, Bank of America, Brixmor Property Group, Brookfield, Casey’s General Stores, DDR Corporation, Federal Realty Investment Trust, Fulcrum Property, Global Partners LP’s Alltown, Jamestown, Kimco Realty Corporation, Kroger, Kum and Go, Love’s Travel Stops, The Macerich Company, Meijer, Pan-Cal Corporation, the Save Mart Companies, Sheetz, Inc., ShopCore Properties, Simon Property Group, Site Centers Corporation, Target Corporation, ValueRock Realty Partners, Walmart, Washington Prime Group and Westfield.

Figure 2 - Electrify America's Cycle 2 California Investments

https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/auctionproceeds/communityinvestments.htm


2.2. Constructing a Network of DC Fast Charging Stations

In Q2, Electrify America opened 17 additional public DC fast charging stations in California, bringing the

total to 192 stations. During the quarter, the number of stations permitted increased 7%, the number of

stations constructed increased 6%, and the number of stations commissioned increased 10%.

Electrify America continued to invest heavily in

disadvantaged and low-income communities during

Q2, as well as rural California. As shown in Figure 3,

approximately 50% of Electrify America’s public DC

fast charging stations at every stage of development

are in low-income and disadvantaged communities,

exceeding the 35% target. Electrify America has also

invested approximately $90 million in public DC fast

charging stations in rural California through the end

of 2020, and we are developing more stations per

capita in rural California communities than in urban

California.3

To accomplish this rapid development pace, Electrify

America has contracted with highly qualified and

experienced engineering and construction firms to

complete DC fast charging station permitting, design

and installation work. These contracting firms, which

together employ more than 7,000 people nationwide,

have managed the installation of thousands of DC

fast chargers. Electrify America and its contractors

continued to encounter challenges and issues,

particularly with regard to “soft costs,” such as

permitting timeframes and utility station

energization, during Q2.

The average time to complete the permitting process

for DC fast charging station sites in California

remained at 79 business days in Q2 – 27% longer than

the national average (Figure 4).

It costs Electrify America 34% more, on average, to

design and construct a station in California than it

costs to build a station with the same number of chargers in another state. The additional permitting

burdens imposed in California appear to be the primary cause for this difference. For example,

permitting processes result in station sites being redesigned far more frequently in California than in the

3 Consistent with Census Bureau practice, urban places are defined as those with a population of 50,000 or more, and rural places are defined as places or areas that are not in an urban area.

Figure 3 - California Sites and Construction Status


rest of the nation, which increases cost and leads to delays. This higher cost per station ultimately

means that California will receive fewer stations per dollar invested by Electrify America.

A review by Governor Newsom’s

administration has found that only

25% of California jurisdictions have

streamlined their permitting

processes as required by AB 1236.4

The statute requires California cities

and counties to expedite EV

charging station permitting, to

constrain review to health and

safety matters, to limit comments

to a single comprehensive

deficiency notice, and to bypass

zoning. In Electrify America’s experience, extended zoning review, multiple rounds of comment, and

application of parking count minimums – all prohibited by AB 1236 – are the three most common causes

of project delay.

Electrify America sponsored AB 970, a bill authored by Assemblymembers McCarty and Chiu that would

make AB 1236 enforceable. The bill passed the California State Assembly by a vote of 66-8 on June 1st,

and was pending in the Senate at the end of Q2. Electrify America also engaged with the Newsom

administration to encourage continued state-level oversight of AB 1236 compliance.

In addition, Electrify America encountered challenges with new utility service interconnection processes

across the state. The quantity of locations and magnitude of power required at Electrify America’s ultra-

fast charging station sites requires significant effort from utilities to validate power availability, design

utility service, create easements, and schedule construction crews.5

As of the end of Q2, the new service utility interconnection process for Electrify America stations

averaged 39 weeks.

Utilities are taking an average of seven weeks from the date of new service request to completion of the

request, although the longest processes can take six months or longer.

At some sites, Electrify America faces substantial delay between when construction of the charging

station is complete and when the utility crews begin the construction necessary to connect the station

to the grid and energize the site, with the longest examples taking almost a year. These utility

construction and inspection periods – which typically occur after Electrify America has completed

station construction but the station is not open to the public because it is awaiting the addition of utility

4 Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). “EV Charging Station Permitting Streamlining Map.” https://business.ca.gov/industries/zero-emission-vehicles/plug-in-readiness/ 5 In some, but not all, cases, adding an Electrify America charging station requires upgrades to the utility’s distribution system. To support rapid deployment, in some areas Electrify America has taken on civil work to support upgrades to a utility’s distribution system, termed “betterment work.”

Figure 4 - California Permitting Duration and Station Cost

https://business.ca.gov/industries/zero-emission-vehicles/plug-in-readiness/


equipment (e.g., transformers, line extensions), utility inspection, and utility energization – average 27

weeks. Although the work necessary for construction and inspection typically represents one to two

weeks of work, the longer average timeline is most commonly the result of substantial scheduling delays

and frequent rescheduling. Extenuating, project-specific circumstances (e.g., an easement across

Federal land) can also be the cause of delay. There were 25 sites at the end of Q2 at which Electrify

America had completed construction, but which were not open to the public due to pending utility

interconnection, inspection, and commissioning processes.

2.2.3. Ultra-fast Electric Vehicle Charger

Technology

Electrify America’s customer-centric stations use the most

advanced technology ever deployed for convenient, fast

charging.

Electrify America’s charging systems were the first 350

kW chargers with state-of-the-art liquid-cooled cables

certified to UL standards in the United States.6 Cycle 2

public ultra-fast charging stations are typically equipped

with four to 10 chargers capable of delivering maximum

power levels from 150 kW to 350 kW. The chargers are

also able to step down to lower power levels for vehicles

equipped for lower powered DC fast charging. At

maximum continuous power, 350 kW chargers are able to

deliver approximately 20 miles of range per minute to a

capable vehicle.

All Electrify America DC fast charging stations are

designed with multiple payment options, including

credit/debit cards, app-based payment, and Plug&Charge,

which allows EV owners to begin a charge without

reaching for their wallet, smartphone or bank card.

Plug&Charge follows the ISO 15118 standard, an

international standard that outlines the secured communication protocol that an EV and charging

station should use to recharge the EV’s battery, and Electrify America is the first to provide this

capability to EV’s from multiple automotive brands.

Electrify America stations support both the CCS Combo and CHAdeMO connectors.7 In recent years, an

increasing percentage of non-Tesla EVs sold in the U.S. have relied on the CCS standard, and CCS is now

6 Neither liquid-cooled cables nor 350 kW charging had been deployed commercially in the United States before the Electrify America network. As a result, Electrify America leases the Center of Excellence for equipment quality control and validation. 7 Some models of vehicles utilizing proprietary charging systems must use an adapter at Electrify America stations.

Figure 5 - Electrify America's Transformational Ultra-fast Charging Technology


the non-proprietary standard of choice

for 31 automakers in the U.S. market.8

Electrify America’s public ultra-fast

stations typically have more CCS chargers

than CHAdeMO chargers per station site,

but Electrify America continues to see

more use of CCS chargers on a per-

charger basis. In Q2, CHAdeMO chargers

delivered 4% of the power dispensed at

Electrify America stations in California,

decreasing from 6% in 2020.

Electrify America stations are also equipped with cellular connectivity and are networked, using open

protocols compliant with Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) version 1.6 or higher.9 These capabilities

were managed for Electrify America in Q2 by Greenlots, which is headquartered in Los Angeles.10

Electrify America has also exchanged roaming specifications with most U.S. charging networks.

Finally, Electrify America continued renewable energy procurement, ensuring that all electricity

delivered to consumers from California stations was 100% renewable energy during Q2.

2.2.3.1. Chargers and Equipment Ordered and Delivered

Chargers are scheduled to be delivered to station sites upon commencement of construction. During Q2,

79 DC fast chargers were delivered to new station sites in California.

Electrify America has also ordered battery storage capacity to mitigate high demand charges, reduce on-

peak energy charges, and ease grid loads.11 During Q2, Electrify America identified destinations of

battery systems based on site-specific limitations, ongoing changes in utility rates, and utility grid needs

in California. By the end of the quarter, 93 of the 104 applications to electric utilities for permission to

connect battery systems had been approved, and 42 battery systems were operational – a 35% increase

during the quarter.

Electrify America has been successful in gaining approval for these behind-the-meter systems, but we

encountered numerous challenges with the process, including utilities that considered the storage to be

added load or generation. These battery systems are designed to reduce peak load and lower demands

on the distribution system. Treating them as new load – in addition to the EV charging station load –

8 “Electrify America Comment regarding Staff Workshop on Future Equipment Requirements for CALeVIP.” December 14, 2019. https://efiling.energy.ca.gov/Lists/DocketLog.aspx?docketnumber=17-EVI-01 9 Electrify America’s public stations will be equipped with back end systems that can use Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI) 2.1 to communicate with other networks and Open InterCharge Protocol (OICP) to be able to connect to roaming platforms, when a business agreement is secured, in a manner that does not require use of any particular firm’s intellectual property. 10 The network controls are hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS), which allows a high security standard. Electrify America undertook intensive testing to approve AWS as a safe and secure environment, as well as security audits of Greenlots as part of the licensing of the network. Also, Electrify America selected a vendor to perform architecture reviews and penetration tests to provide data security. 11 “Electrify America Adds Tesla Battery Storage To More Than 100 New Charging Stations.” February 4, 2019. https://media.electrifyamerica.com/en-us/releases/48

Figure 6 - Electrify America Implements Plug&Charge

https://efiling.energy.ca.gov/Lists/DocketLog.aspx?docketnumber=17-EVI-01

https://media.electrifyamerica.com/en-us/releases/48


serves as a barrier to rapid deployment efforts, and frequently leads to rigorous, time-intensive

interconnection studies.

2.2.4. Electrify America Ultra-Fast Charging Station Operations

Electrify America is committed to providing a reliable, high-quality, and customer-centric charging

experience. The Electrify America fast-charging network was rated #1 by Charged Electric Vehicles

Magazine and received its “Best-in-Test” award in 2020. In Q2, Electrify America remained focused on

providing industry-leading customer service, network operations, training, and service.

To increase and simplify access to stations, Electrify America continues to work with automakers to

provide complementary charging and seamless charging experiences to new EV drivers. Since the end of

Q1, Electrify America has announced complementary charging available on new models from Audi,

Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo, expanding these offers to new models from 11 different brands.12

Electrify America saw a substantial increase in customer activity and station utilization during Q2, as

travel increased and new models of EVs sold in greater volumes. Electrify America public charging

stations in California delivering more than twice as much energy in Q2 as in the previous quarter, and

more than eight times as much energy compared to the second quarter of last year.

2.3. Level 2 Rural, Workplace, and Multiunit Dwelling Charging Stations

The Cycle 2 California ZEV Investment Plan included a $2 million investment to pilot innovative Level 2

AC charging station business models, which would be focused specifically on rural California

communities. This investment – which is additional

to Electrify America’s $90 million investment in DC

fast charging stations in rural California

communities – resulted in the deployment of off-

grid, solar-powered charging stations at 30 sites,

with a high concentration of locations in

California’s Central Valley. 13 Ten of these Level 2

AC stations are managed in collaboration with

Fresno County Rural Transit Agency (FCRTA).

Charging vehicles at these stations is free to

consumers and open to use by all electric vehicles,

12 “2022 Audi e-tron GT to Arrive with Available Premium Electrified Ecosystem, Including Three Years of Complimentary DC Fast Charging,” June 15, 2021, https://media.electrifyamerica.com/en-us/releases/145; “Electrify America and Hyundai Announce Agreement to Provide Future All-Electric IONIQ 5 Drivers with Two Years of Complimentary Fast Charging,” May 24, 2021, https://media.electrifyamerica.com/en-us/releases/143; “Electrify America, Mercedes-Benz USA Announce Two Years of Complimentary Nationwide Fast Charging for All-Electric EQS,” June 17, 2021, https://media.electrifyamerica.com/en-us/releases/146; “Electrify America and Volvo Announce Agreement to Provide All-Electric Volvo XC40 Recharge Drivers with 250 kilowatt-hours of Complimentary Nationwide Fast Charging,” July 19, 2021, https://media.electrifyamerica.com/en-us/releases/151. 13 “Electrify America Launches Solar-Powered Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Rural Fresno County.” September 30, 2020. https://media.electrifyamerica.com/en-us/releases/114

Figure 7 - EV Charging at Workplace/MUD Sites









and the utilization data is available in the appendix.

In Q2, Electrify America also continued to work with its turnkey vendors (EV Connect, Greenlots and

SemaConnect) to provide charging services at workplace and multiunit dwelling charging stations built

during Cycle 1. More than 1,500 charging ports across 241 sites were operational, with 42% of these

station sites in low-income and disadvantaged communities. In Q2, the program’s L2 workplace and

MUD stations delivering approximately 387 megawatt-hours to vehicles.

2.3.1. Charger Technology

Electrify America sourced charging systems for its Level 2 AC rural California investments from Beam

Global (formerly Envision Solar), a San Diego-based sustainable technology company. The EV ARC™ 2020

is a transportable, solar-powered electric vehicle charging infrastructure product. Each stand-alone

station is equipped with a 4.28 kW sun-tracking solar array, 32 kWh of on-board battery storage that

allows the station to operate without a connection to the power grid, and two Electrify America L2 EV

chargers equipped with non-proprietary SAE J1772 connectors. This combination allows for two

customers to charge their vehicles at the same time using 100 percent renewable electricity – in any

weather, at any time of day, and even during a blackout or power outage.

Beam Global operates and maintains electronic communication with the chargers installed and operated

on behalf of Electrify America, as well as those installed independently of the program’s efforts. Electrify

America owns the data from these charging stations.

The workplace and MUD charging

stations funded during Cycle 1 typically

have four to six L2 chargers, each with a

minimum power level of 6.6 kW. The

chargers provide 20 to 25 miles of

driving range per hour of charging for a

typical EV using the non-proprietary SAE

J1772 connector, which can be used

with all electric vehicles in the United

States.

The Level 2 workplace and MUD

charging station turnkey vendors own, operate, and maintain their own electronic data networks in

support of L2 chargers installed and operated on behalf of Electrify America, as well as those installed

independently of the program’s efforts. Electrify America owns the data from the charging stations it

funded. The chargers installed under this program are on the vendors' networks.

Figure 8 - EV ARC™ 2020 with Electrify America L2 Chargers


3. Education, Awareness, and Marketing

3.1. Brand-Neutral ZEV Education and Awareness Media Campaign

During Q2 2021, Electrify America continued its “Normal Now” education and awareness campaign in

California to educate consumers about the reasons to purchase a ZEV. The campaign – which was

awarded an “Outstanding Achievement in Internet Advertising” award by the Web Marketing

Association for producing the “Best Automobile Online Ad” of 2020 – accomplished over 35 million

impressions (i.e., listeners and viewers) in California during the quarter.14

The Normal Now campaign, developed by San Francisco-based

communications firm Eleven, aims to introduce and normalize zero-

emission vehicles for the vast majority of Americans who are not

aware of or have never considered switching to a ZEV. Through

comical 15-second videos, GIFs and still images, the Normal Now

campaign draws comparisons between “new technology” of the past

– including cell phones, smart watches and online dating – that were

“weird at first,” but are normal now – just like EVs. The education and

awareness efforts include brand-neutral digital and paid search

campaigns and a bilingual landing page (www.NormalNow.com) that

provides an overview of the benefits of both battery electric and

hydrogen fuel cell electric ZEVs, with links to third-party websites

containing robust content for users.

In May 2021, Electrify America launched the remaining channels of

Flight 3 of the Normal Now campaign. The Normal Now messaging is

being promoted via digital display, digital radio, online video, paid social media, and paid search ads.

These channels will deliver our ads through the end of October 2021.

Paid social media has been one of the most effective channels in reaching consumers, delivering over

19.3 million impressions across Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest, for both low-income and

disadvantaged community and California-wide campaigns, in the quarter. These platforms continue to

be the strongest drivers of promoting awareness of EVs and encouraging users to learn more about the

benefits of driving electric.

Digital radio has also been strong for delivering the Normal Now message. This flight has specifically

focused on Spotify and Pandora, the two most popular streaming platforms. In Q2, we reached 3.6

million people on the streaming platforms, and drove over 1,300 visits to the Normal Now site.

All our media channels play an important role in delivering the Normal Now message and promoting

awareness of EVs across our target audiences. Electrify America is continuing to monitor and optimize

Flight 3 spending in order to direct budget toward the best-performing tactics through October 2021. As

14 “The Web Marketing Association is proud to present this 2021 Internet Advertising Competition Award for Outstanding Achievement in Internet Advertising.” http://www.iacaward.org/iac/winner/18230/truex-and-phd-wins-2021-iac-award-for-electrify-america-normal-now.html

Figure 9 - Normal Now Spanish-Language Mobile Landing Page

http://www.iacaward.org/iac/winner/18230/truex-and-phd-wins-2021-iac-award-for-electrify-america-normal-now.html




such, we expect to see even stronger performance and results in driving awareness, interest, and

adoption of EVs throughout California and its low-income and disadvantaged communities.

Table 1 below illustrates media impressions resulting from brand-neutral education and awareness

activities in Q2 2021.

Table 1 – Q2 California Normal Now Impressions

Total California Impressions

Media Type General Audience Media Targeted in

LIC/DAC Areas Total

Streaming Audio 2,187,145 1,430,280 3,617,425

Search 428,437 79,481 507,918

Digital/Video 7,091,310 4,587,415 11,678,725

Social 10,316,126 8,994,320 19,310,446

TOTAL 20,023,018 15,091,496 35,114,514

Electrify America and its media agency bought digital media by specific zip codes, in order to ensure that

35% of all media spending occurred in low-income and disadvantaged communities. This investment

resulted in more than 15 million impressions during the quarter, as shown in Table 1.

3.2. Low-Income and Disadvantaged Community-level Investments

In October 2020, Electrify America announced $3 million of investment in organizations that provide ZEV

education and awareness programs for low-income and disadvantaged communities in California. The

investment provides support for six California-based organizations as they raise awareness on the

benefits of driving ZEVs, while working to get more drivers behind the wheel of electric vehicles. The six

recipient organizations and their activities during Q2 are summarized in Table 2.

Table 2 - Low-Income and Disadvantaged Community Outreach Investments

Organization Description Q2 2021 Accomplishments

Breathe of

Southern

California

(Breathe SoCal)

Breathe SoCal (formerly BREATHE

LA) is a non-profit, non-partisan

organization that will collaborate

with Plug In America (PIA) to show

the powerful benefits of driving

electric by providing ZEV Ride and

Drive events among low-income

and disadvantaged populations in

greater Los Angeles County, San

Bernardino and Riverside County

areas.

- Held two ride and drive events in collaboration

with Plug In America, reaching 90 individuals

- Held three Spanish-language Facebook Live

sessions, reaching 187 individuals

- 81% of participants were interested in renting or

owning a ZEV after the workshops

- Conducted EV educational materials gift bag drop

off to community centers, reaching 150 individuals

- Reached 129,891 individuals through six paid

Facebook EV education ads

- Reached 88,274 individuals through organic social

media posts and emails



Central California

Asthma

Collaborative

(CCAC)

CCAC will engage with low-income

and disadvantaged residents across

the San Joaquin Valley, including

coordination of the Clean Vehicle

Empowerment Collaborative

(CVEC), a group of eight

community-based organizations

who serve as trusted messengers in

disadvantaged Valley communities.

This program will support the

development of an EV Navigator

program, providing residents one-

on-one assistance with ZEV pricing,

financing and incentive

applications.

- Hosted six online EV workshops by CVEC partners

in Madera, Fresno and Kern Counties, two of

which were in Spanish. Attendance was 149

- Distributed ZEV rebate program info to an

estimated 350 participants at four outdoor events

related to COVID-19 relief

- Supported an outdoor ZEV Clean Mobility Display,

resulting in 37 referrals to the EV Navigator (EVN)

program

- Assisted 13 residents in submitting the Driving

Clean Assistance Program application through the

EVN program

- Ensured that 13 residents became income-

verified by Access Clean California and four

received DCAP approvals

Drive Clean Bay

Area (DCBA)

DCBA focuses on engaging local

schools, nonprofits and businesses

to educate their stakeholders to

drive electric. The DCBA campaign

launched the ZEV Families Program

in 2019 in collaboration with

Acterra: Action for a Healthy Planet,

Charge Across Town and Cool the

Earth to connect low income

families in the San Francisco Bay

Area to the clean transportation

movement.

- Completed one Financial Incentives Clinic in June

in Alameda County, based in Oakland

- Targeted LIC/DAC communities via social media

ad placements and outreach to Drive Clean

contacts to promote Financial Incentives clinics

- Generated 130,000 impressions and 950 clicks

through ad placements

- Completed additional EV videos (11 total)

including 2 in Spanish and 4 short versions

- Generated 299 views and 4,351 impressions

through videos

Ecology Action

(EcoAct)

Ecology Action will work with four

community partners to will provide

ZEV Ride and Drives, ZEV Showcase

events and individualized ZEV

purchase guidance by using

bilingual EV Ambassadors virtually

and in person when it is safe to do

so. Ecology Action works in the

California Central Coast region,

including Santa Cruz, San Benito,

Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa

Barbara, and Ventura Counties.

- Hosted Affordable EV Webinar in English and

Spanish with 397 attendees, 131 new EV Purchase

Guidance sign ups, and 6 articles published with

125,700 total publication distribution

- Launched “EVs for Everyone” campaign in English

and Spanish, resulting in 1,261 visitors to English

landing page and 2,986 visitors to Spanish landing

page

- Trained 12 new Purchase Guidance Advisors. Six

are CA Climate Action Corp Fellows recruited for

the summer program

- Assigned 179 new participants to Purchase

Guidance Advisors, with 27 EV purchases

complete, 302 participants eligible for grant

program and/or increased rebate, and 31 Access

Clean Benefits Finder income-verified applicants

https://www.evsforeveryone.org/



Liberty Hill

Foundation (LHF)

LHF will focus on connecting low-

income and disadvantaged

households across L.A. County with

diverse grassroots groups through

its emPOWER program - a

partnership between LHF and nine

community-based organizations.

The program leverages the

extensive network of CBO partners

across social media platforms, as

well as through direct outreach

leveraging local community

members, volunteers and leaders.

- Renewed contracts with 5 additional community

organizations that will support all outreach efforts

in Q3/Q4 2021

- Reached over 148,000 with 11,500 post

engagements through Q2 social media marketing

- Online outreach resulted in 955 unique phone

calls and 554 unique 1:1 emails with 890

households receiving ZEV education consultations

- Referred approximately 250 households to the

CAP program and provided direct technical

assistance for 35 households to file CAP

applications through CBO partners

Valley Clean Air

Now (Valley CAN)

VCAN is a 501(c)(3) public charity

committed to quantifiably reducing

air emissions in California’s San

Joaquin Valley, the region with the

worst air quality in the United

States. VCAN and partner Charge

Across Town will continue their

comprehensive campaigns that

offer San Joaquin Valley low-

income and disadvantaged

community groups an opportunity

to drive ZEVs and to provide hands-

on help with qualifying for ZEV

incentives through Community

Clean Car Clinics and Tune In &

Tune Up events.

- Completed 208 Clean Cars 4 All vehicle

replacements in Q2, with 75% of customers

choosing ZEVs as their replacement vehicle

- Secured approval for 259 Clean Cars 4 All

customers for home EVSE installs by qualified

contractors; 26 have been completed

- Worked with the Valley Air District to resume

Community Clean Car Clinics and Tune In & Tune

Up events as early as July 2021. First Tune In &

Tune Up event was scheduled for 7/17/21 in

Lemoore, CA

- Continued operating "virtual" Tune In & Tune Up

smog repair phone bank and issued 6,032 smog

repair vouchers during Q2

3.3. Workforce Development and STEM Education

In March, Electrify America announced $1.6 million in funding for Science, Technology, Engineering and

Math (STEM) education and workforce development programs relating to zero-emission vehicles.15 The

investment awarded funds to four organizations to develop and launch educational and workforce

training programs to support K-12 and community college students as well as workers through

vocational training in California and across the country. Three of the four recipients – Ecology Action, the

Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), and Valley CAN – are California-based. These STEM and worker

training programs will specifically address the need to educate students on EVs, as well as provide on-

the-job vocational training that will be critical to developing a workforce of future engineers, software

15 “Electrify America Invests Over $1.6 Million in STEM Programs and Workforce Development to Drive Brand-Neutral Zero Emission Vehicle Education.” March 1, 2021. https://media.electrifyamerica.com/en-us/releases/131



developers, battery technicians, energy management specialists, construction managers and a wide

variety of additional jobs that the EV industry needs to fill as it grows.

The table below summarizes the activities of the California-based STEM recipients during Q2.

Table 3 - STEM Education Investments


Ecology Action

Ecology Action is partnering with

Fused Learning, LLC, a leader in

STEM education, to develop and

deploy the “ZEV Future for All”

curriculum to students in grades 4 –

8 across Northern California.

- Surpassed goal of seven program counties, with a

total of 14 counties (200% of target)

- Surpassed goal of 1,200 teacher enrollment with

1,448 participating teachers (120% of target)

- 11,616 students are on track to receive the ZEV

education curriculum

- Curriculum v1.0 (10-week program) is complete

- Curriculum v2.0 (4-week program) currently

under development

Los Angeles

Cleantech

Incubator (LACI)

LACI is running workforce

development and vocational

training programs, with specific

emphasis on training and certifying

workers for EV charging station

repair and other EV industry jobs.

LACI participants gain hands-on

experience in the Advanced

Prototyping Center (APC) facilities,

including gaining expertise in Open

Charge Point Interface (OCPI) and

Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP).

- Provided 25 LACI APC Fellowship graduates with

certificates of completion in Full Stack

Development Fundamentals or Azure Cloud

Administration Fundamentals

- Held Demo Day on April 16 for graduates to

present solutions in app development and cloud

administration

- Hosted successful career fair attended by 15

cleantech employers and colleges

- Placed 13 interns at LACI startups and partner

organizations, and placed two fellows in

employment at STEM-related companies

- Launched LACI’s EV Maintenance fellowship

program with 13 participants, in partnership with

Los Angeles Trade Technical College (LATTC)

Valley CAN and

Bakersfield

College

VCAN and Bakersfield College will

reach community college

automotive students through

curriculum and vocational training.

Partnering with the California New

Car Dealers Association on the

curriculum, Bakersfield College will

train students for “green collar”

careers in the EV industry.

- Bakersfield College launched first one-unit ZEV

Maintenance Training course and is on track to

launch the full course for fall semester

- Bakersfield College submitted ZEV Maintenance

Training curriculum to its review committee

- Bakersfield College has initiated process to submit

ZEV Maintenance Training program for state

approval as job certification program

- Bakersfield College began scoping “Train the

Trainer” program to prepare community college

instructors to teach the curriculum starting 2022


3.4. Sponsorships

The Cycle 2 California ZEV Investment Plan states that “there may be occasions where it would be

reasonable for Electrify America to further education and awareness of ZEVs … by supporting the

programs, activities, or events of an industry or non-profit organization.” In Q2, Electrify America

sponsored a number of organizations to conduct education and outreach activities meeting these

criteria.

Electrify America and EV Noire, a leading EV equity organization, previously announced a collaboration

on the “Drive the Future California” campaign,16 which seeks to identify and overcome barriers to

electrification among African-Americans living in California. During Q2, EV Noire completed six focus

groups and an online survey of 512 California residents who identify as Black/African-American to assess

knowledge and perceptions of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. The survey revealed

valuable information on perceived benefits and barriers around electrification that will be used to target

the next phase of the project.

Electrify America continued sponsoring Veloz’s development of the Incentive Assistant tool,17 which

provides users with information about available incentives for Level 2 chargers for their homes. The

Incentive Assistant complements the Home Charging Advisor tool developed in 2020, which provides

users with information on available Level 2 chargers, along with total cost estimated based on purchase

and installation. The Incentive Assistant tool went live on June 15th with nine home charging incentives

included.

Electrify America also sponsored EV awareness activities by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, which kicked

off in June, and provide EV education and awareness tailored to the LGBT+ audience in Los Angeles.

3.5. Branded Marketing

In Q2, Electrify America continued its nationwide branded marketing campaign, with the goals of

increasing utilization of Electrify America’s charging infrastructure and awareness of the Electrify

America brand. Branded media activities during the quarter continued as an extension of the “Hello,

Freedom” campaign that launched in the second half of 2020.

During Q2, only the paid search channel was live, while paid social media, digital display, digital radio

and online video were scheduled to resume in July. The branded media campaign is slated to run

through the end of 2021 and will continue to drive consideration of the Electrify America charging

network among our core audience of EV intenders and drivers.

16 “Electrify America Collaborates with EV Noire to Advance Electric Vehicle Education and Access in Diverse, African-American Communities in California.” January 14, 2021. https://media.electrifyamerica.com/en-us/releases/126 17 The Incentive Assistant tool is available online at https://incentiveassistant.electricforall.org/


https://incentiveassistant.electricforall.org/


4. Cycle 1 Sacramento Green City Initiative

4.1. Introduction

The goals of Electrify America’s Cycle 1 Green City Initiative were to increase ZEV awareness; provide

ZEV access to underserved, low-income and disadvantaged communities; increase use of ZEV technology

to maximize ZEV miles traveled while reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and test the economic

viability of ZEV access initiatives. Electrify America’s Cycle 1 Green City investments were made in

previous years, and in Q2 Electrify America continued to work with the recipients of Electrify America’s

past investment to ensure that Green City investments delivered on their promises.

4.2. Infrastructure

Electrify America designed, permitted, built, and opened 14 DC fast charging stations in the Sacramento

market – consistent with Electrify America’s plan to provide Sacramento with the highest per-capita

density of Electrify America’s DC fast chargers in the nation. In Q2, the stations in Sacramento were

highly utilized, and a station in Sacramento was again Electrify America’s highest utilization station in the

state. These stations also continued to benefit from Electrify America’s investment in the Energy

StorageShares program developed by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD).18 The program

enables SMUD to place energy storage in grid-stressed locations in Sacramento while providing Electrify

America with potential reductions in demand charges at stations in SMUD’s service territory.

4.3. ZEV Shuttle / Bus

Two ZEV public transit services serving Sacramento continued operation in Q2.

In 2019, Electrify America fully-funded the purchase and delivery of 12 Proterra E2 Catalyst electric

buses that Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT) and Yolo County Transportation District (YCTD) use to

provide the “Causeway Connection” electric transit bus service from Davis to Sacramento. Electrify

America also designed and built ultra-

fast charging stations at four sites –

the SacRT depot, the YCTD depot, and

two on-route locations – to make this

service a reality.

In Q2, the Causeway Connection

provided an estimated 98,000

passenger miles of service, a 10%

increase from the previous quarter.

The innovative “SmaRT Ride” on-demand, micro-shuttle service in the Franklin Boulevard community,

operated by SacRT, provided an estimated 9,900 passenger miles of service during Q2 on three

California-built GreenPower EV Star shuttles funded by Electrify America. This is the second quarter in a

18 “Electrify America Invests in the SMUD Energy StorageShares Program to Reduce Overall Energy Costs and Lower Company's Draw on Sacramento's Electrical Grid.” January 15, 2020. https://media.electrifyamerica.com/en-us/releases/89

Figure 10 - Causeway Connection Electric Bus



row that SacRT has reported growing ridership on this service, demonstrating its value in a historically

underserved community.

At a CARB public meeting in May, SacRT shared that the Franklin SmartRide on-demand shuttle showed

increased utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic. “During the height of the pandemic, instead of

cutting services, we increased headways and vehicle availability to accommodate the demand,” SacRT’s

representative said. SacRT also adapted the SmartRide service during the pandemic to meet community

need by (1) providing food delivery for seniors and families in disadvantaged neighborhoods; (2)

changing the service area to incorporate the County's vaccine distribution sites; (3) providing free rides

to vaccines and polling stations; (4) continuing free rides for students; and (5) transporting homeless

individuals to warming centers.

4.4. Car-Sharing Services

Three car-share services – GIG Car Share, the AAA Subscription Service, and Envoy – operated in Q2.

Additional information on car-share service utilization is available in the appendix.

4.4.1. GIG Car Share

GIG Car Share operates the largest “free-float” EV car-share service in the United States, using its fleet of

Chevy Bolts funded entirely by Electrify America. Since the program’s inception, the fleet has travelled

nearly 3.5 million miles, and in Q2, the fleet traveled more than 622,000 miles across more than 10,700

separate trips.

While the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant

impact on demand for car-sharing services, GIG

has diligently modified its offerings in response

to customer feedback and demand. As a result,

the GIG fleet utilization now exceeds pre-

pandemic levels. The second quarter was GIG’s

highest utilization quarter to date, with the GIG

fleet traveling 110% more miles in Q2 than the

last pre-pandemic quarter (Q1 2020).

To accommodate member preferences

identified during the COVID-19 pandemic, GIG

created the Multi-Day Rental (MDR) program, allowing members to reserve a GIG vehicle for multiple

days in a row. GIG continued to modify and perfect the MDR program in Q2, and longer rental periods

became a growing portion of utilization during the quarter, with MDR trips representing 22% of April

trips, 26% of May trips, and 41% of June trips.

4.4.2 Envoy

Envoy operates a residential car-share service at 45 Sacramento properties. Envoy has reached an

agreement with each residential community to provide car-share as an amenity. Electrify America

funded the entire capital cost of the 90 electric cars and 45 charging stations that Envoy uses to provide

Figure 11 - GIG Car Share Service


this benefit to the Sacramento community, and the service is to be run by Envoy for a minimum of three

years.

Over the course of Q2, 308 active users completed more than 3,200 trips in Envoy vehicles, accounting

for more than 14,000 hours of travel time. Utilization varied from property to property, as it has since

the program’s launch. For example, two properties accounted for more than 300 trips each during the

quarter, while nine locations recorded less than 20 trips each during Q2. Two locations had no customer

activity in the quarter.

During Q1, Envoy proposed reducing its level of service in

Sacramento, which would require Electrify America’s mutual

agreement under the contract. A productive dialogue

between Electrify America and Envoy was held, but Electrify

America did not agree to changes in service and the contract

was not amended. At the end of Q2, Envoy reported to

Electrify America that it had unilaterally reduced the fleet

size in Sacramento to 48 vehicles, while maintaining vehicle

deployment across all 45 site locations. Specifically, Envoy

reduced from two vehicles to one vehicle as most locations.

4.4.3. AAA Electric Vehicle Subscription

In 2020, AAA launched a “car subscription” program,

offering 55 electric vehicles, provided by Electrify America to

AAA at no cost, for short-term subscription rentals in the

Sacramento area.

AAA launched the program during the COVID-19 pandemic,

which proved to be a serious barrier to customer adoption.

With 19 customers in Q1, AAA informed Electrify America

that it would be winding down the program.

In Q2, Electrify America coordinated the transfer of these 55

electric vehicles to Valley CAN, which agreed to provide the

vehicles to deserving and effective Central Valley non-profit

and community-based organizations. Valley CAN

administered a selection process to identify organizations

that would use electric vehicles to the benefit of the

community, and planned to deliver the vehicles to the

organizations in Q3.19

19 Liz Gonzalez, “Valley Non-profit Groups Receive Donated Electric Vehicle Fleet,” July 17, 2021; https://kmph.com/news/local/valley-non-profit-groups-get-electric-vehicle-fleet

Figure 12 - Impacts on Low-Income and Disadvantaged Communities

https://kmph.com/news/local/valley-non-profit-groups-get-electric-vehicle-fleet


4.5. Disadvantaged and Low-Income Impact

The Electrify America Green City Initiative has prioritized investments that increase access to ZEV

technology in low-income and disadvantaged communities in Sacramento. As highlighted in Figure 12,

approximately 63% of served census tracts in the GIG Home Zone are designated as low-income or

disadvantaged communities.

Envoy has continued to focus on low-income and disadvantaged communities, with 71% of the

properties under the program being located in these areas. Of the 45 total Envoy properties, 32 are in

low-income or disadvantaged communities.

The two ZEV shuttle/bus services also operate in low-income and disadvantaged communities. The

Causeway Connection replaced a private, limited access bus with a public transit service, and 100% of

this investment is classified as low-income or disadvantaged under CARB criteria.20 Of the census tracts

served by the Franklin Boulevard shuttle service, 84% are low-income or disadvantaged communities.

20 For CARB criteria, see California Air Resources Board. “Evaluation Criteria for Providing Benefits To Priority Populations: Clean Transportation and Equipment.” https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/auctionproceeds/ccidoc/criteriatable/criteria-table-cte.pdf. In the 2019 Schedule of Creditable Costs, Electrify America did not credit the Causeway Connection investment as an LIC/DAC investment, as the cited CARB criteria have not been independently validated as a basis for cost allocation.

https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/auctionproceeds/ccidoc/criteriatable/criteria-table-cte.pdf

https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/capandtrade/auctionproceeds/ccidoc/criteriatable/criteria-table-cte.pdf


5. Vendor Survey Electrify America surveys its vendors semi-annually regarding the economic impact of its investments in

California. The survey for the first half of 2021 was conducted over a three-week period, and

respondents were repeatedly notified of its importance to Electrify America’s reporting requirements.

Electrify America appreciates the time and effort its vendors put into completing the survey. Fifty-one

firms responded, and 21 of the respondents are headquartered in California.

Approximately 12% of the total workforce reported by

survey respondents worked in California, distributed across

86 offices and vendor-controlled facilities. Responding

vendors identified more than 8,000 workers employed by

themselves and subcontractors that worked on Electrify

America projects from January to June 2021, including 812

workers in California. Of these workers, vendors reported

that 75% – 610 individuals – lived in low-income and

disadvantaged communities as determined by the CARB

definitions.

In addition, Electrify America is creating new jobs and

sustaining existing jobs. Survey respondents indicated that

over 1,850 jobs were either created or sustained because of

work with Electrify America during the first half of 2021.

Roughly 10% of these jobs were based in California.

The survey is designed to highlight the impact of Electrify

America’s investment on job creation and economic

development in California’s disadvantaged and low-income communities. However, vendors cannot

require their employees to provide demographic information, and Electrify America cannot verify it.

California-based vendors reported that 48% of their offices and facilities (including home offices) were

located in low-income and disadvantaged communities.21 Roughly 2% of California-based vendors’

employees self-identified as veterans.

Eleven vendors qualify as small businesses, while seven vendors reported qualifying as woman- or

minority-owned entities, an increase from the second half of 2020.22 Sixteen vendors, or 32% of all

responding vendors active in California, also noted their efforts to recruit prospective workers from low-

income or disadvantaged communities in the state. Vendors noted a range of strategies for hiring from

these communities, including recruiting from local vocational and trade schools, networking through

faith-based organizations, attending job fairs, placing ads in publications that serve LIC/DAC areas, and

using online recruitment tools.

21 In addition to these permanent locations, vendors also provided services, such as ride-and-drive events or car-sharing programs, in many locations across the state, which are not part of this dataset. 22 Non-profit organizations qualify as minority-owned or women-owned based on Board of Directors composition.

Figure 13 - Electrify America Contractors Construct a Charging Site

2021 q2 report to california air resources board

Documents