What Other States Can Learn from California’s Journey to 150,000 EV Chargers

New RMI analysis explores California’s successes and challenges in its efforts to reform permitting processes for electric truck depots.

In 2024, California announced that the state had more than 150,000 public and private electric vehicle chargers. While California must deploy many more chargers to meet its electrification targets, this milestone has cemented its reputation as a leader in vehicle electrification. As states nationwide develop strategies to strengthen charging infrastructure, they can benefit from lessons learned from California’s efforts.

While the state’s work adopted a multipronged approach, it primarily concentrated on improving outdated permitting processes for electric truck and electric vehicle (EV) charging deployment, as electrifying trucking is key to meeting state decarbonization goals.

This prioritization makes sense: as noted in a paper published by RMI and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), today’s permitting and zoning processes result in delays, avoidable expenditures, and wasted time. As EV adoption continues to grow, these inefficient processes threaten to hinder or even stall EV adoption.

Below, we list the challenges California wanted to address, the ways in which it addressed them, and the effects of their efforts. These insights come from RMI and Mission Possible Partnership’s Clean Industrial Hub work in Los Angeles, California, which accelerates industrial and heavy transportation decarbonization in the region.

Permitting challenges facing electric truck charging deployment

Today’s permitting and zoning processes:

• Are often not written to accommodate electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Many do not even contain provisions for EV chargers.
• Lack dedicated staff to support EV charging deployment.
• Often do not reference or properly categorize EV supply equipment.
• Involve significant delays and increased costs due to conditional or special use permit processes that require zoning board approval and/or city council approval.
• Do not account for EV charging parking spaces, which may violate minimum parking requirements.
• Do not specify the number and characteristics of accessible EV charging spaces, if any.
• Make it difficult if not impossible to estimate EV charger readiness costs.
• Do not consider the barriers posed by design, aesthetic, and on-street charging regulations.
• Are unclear or inconsistent and do not include guidance documents and timelines.
• Are not standardized.
• Sometimes require sequential, multi-department reviews, clearances, and inspections, making the application review process unnecessarily long

How California addressed EV charging deployment challenges

In California, the majority of the state’s attempts at industrial permitting reform have focused on vehicle charging sites and hydrogen infrastructure.

In May of 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an Executive Order establishing an Infrastructure Strike Team whose responsibility is, among other things, to “support coordination between federal, state, tribal, and local government, as well as among state agencies, on project review, permitting, and approvals.” The Strike Team is composed of eight subgroups, among which are Energy, Transportation, Hydrogen, and Zero-Emission Vehicles.

In 2021, the state legislature passed two bills aimed at easing permitting for EV charging stations. AB-1236 requires California cities and counties to develop expedited, streamlined permitting processes for vehicle charging stations, gives deadlines to the permit review process for EV charging stations, and requires that local governments provide an online checklist of items needed to submit a complete application for such a site. The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) has also published an Electric Vehicle Charging Station Permitting Guidebook.

California’s successes

These efforts have already shown success, even beyond California’s nation-leading charger deployment numbers. GO-Biz reports that 342 cities and counties statewide are in compliance with AB-1236 permit streamlining requirements, with 84 more currently in the process of streamlining.

Companies that install public charging locations report that while the learning curve for permitting can be steep, the time it takes to permit often decreases by the second or third project. Even when applications are in different local jurisdictions across the state, companies can gain familiarity with the process since their requirements are often similar. And once a jurisdiction has successfully permitted a charging project, the process becomes easier in that same jurisdiction.

In a review of 2023 Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) vouchers, CALSTART found that only 3 percent of canceled voucher requests were due to infrastructure issues, which include real estate and electric grid capacity for charger installation, the availability of public charging, and the availability of hydrogen fueling infrastructure. This finding highlights that issues other than grid readiness are currently bigger reasons for fleets canceling their vehicle purchases. While the grid will certainly need upgrades to accommodate future truck electrification, it is a positive indication that factors more under local control are currently less problematic to this transition.

Finally, Californian utilities have stepped up to support the state’s electrification goals by offering special programs to support charging, siting, and permitting, making it easier to get needed electricity to a new site.

Lessons learned

Governor Newsom’s executive order and the passing of AB-1246 and AB-970 have elicited stakeholder feedback, which can inform California and other states’ efforts to strengthen EV charging infrastructure. Below, we list common challenges stakeholders have faced when seeking to comply with these laws and regulations, and what states should include in legislation to address these challenges.

Knowledge gaps and insufficient resources

Many stakeholders have noted that while laws like AB-970 require that local permitting offices respond to permit applications within a certain number of days, many authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) are either unaware of the requirement or too time-strapped to comply. Some permit seekers have reported that when they try to alert AHJs of the requirements, their efforts are sometimes met with hostility. In these instances, GO-Biz can help both parties engage with the regulatory process.

When a state passes legislation requiring localities to improve and expedite their permitting processes, they should be sure to also allocate personnel and financial resources to support localities as they come into compliance with the new law.

Permitting delays in equipment for infrastructure not related to energy

Other permit seekers have noted that while AB-970 covers permits required for charging infrastructure, projects can still be delayed when cities and counties fail to approve permits for infrastructure not related to energy, such as those for guardhouses, bathrooms, parking, and other amenities.

States that pass regulation in the future can avoid duplicating California’s loophole by ensuring that all elements of the permitting process are considered when attempting to expedite the process.

Best practices for trucking companies seeking permits in California

Involve affected communities early on

When trucking companies clearly communicate the benefits and risks of a new project to an affected community, residents are more likely to approve electric charger installations, as they understand the advantages of welcoming newer, cleaner technologies to their area.

Many companies view permitting as a helpful verification that their engineers and project managers are rigorously applying safety standards in site design. Local review serves as a key mechanism for ensuring that these considerations are accounted for at a stage when it is feasible to adjust site layouts.

Use community insights to inform charging depot design

Conforming to local color schemes, including public art, and getting buy-in for site layouts are important ways for companies to show their willingness to work with communities instead of simply within communities. Including more people in the planning process can help ensure long-term project success and avoid common delays like excessive litigation. Proactive community involvement can be especially important in jurisdictions that have not yet permitted a truck charging site.

Local permitting staff often want more information about the technology and may be wary of approving its use. Collaboratively working toward solutions that meet both community needs and fleet operational requirements can benefit all stakeholders. An in-depth view of how to approach this process well can be seen in the recent RMI policy brief Easing the Permitting Process for Clean Industrial Projects in California.

Be mindful of potential delays in the utility interconnection process

Utility interconnection is a critical part of the depot construction process but is another key area where developers may face bottlenecks. It can sometimes take years for a site to get power capacity upgrades due to supply chain delays and engineering challenges. Flexible interconnections, where fleets use less power during peak grid times but can access more power during off-peak times, have the potential to expedite interconnection, but these solutions have not yet been deployed by many utilities.

Solar panels and on-site batteries can also mitigate peak power usage, but they face their own permitting challenges and may not be economically advantageous for all fleets. Overall, delays in permitting can add to the already-long timelines developers and utilities face in constructing large-scale EV charging projects.

Learning from California

California’s work in implementing expedited permitting processes offers unique insights into what is and isn’t working for zero-emission transportation solutions. Even with a clear state-level vision in place, AHJs often face resource constraints and a lack of guidance on how to comply with regulations.

Left unaddressed, these factors can result in significant delays, or even failures, in charging station deployments. Building collaboration between state officials, AHJs, and industry stakeholders is crucial to implementing these measures effectively. Groups like GO-Biz offer many resources for both site developers and AHJs, helping them understand the regulatory landscape and how to make processes as efficient as possible. If done well, charging infrastructure can be deployed in a timely manner while still preserving community input, providing a helpful guidebook from which other states can learn.

Interested in learning more? Check out these resources:

• The case for placing drayage truck chargers away from ports
• Webinar — Providing truck charging solutions in southern California
• Easing the Permitting Process for Clean Industrial Projects in California

About Clean Industrial Hubs

The insights above come from RMI and the Mission Possible Partnership’s Clean Industrial Hub work in Los Angeles, California, which accelerates industrial and heavy transportation decarbonization in the region. Clean industrial hubs bring together policymakers, financial institutions, project developers, and community-based organizations to enable groundbreaking decarbonization projects in the hardest-to-abate sectors. In Los Angeles, RMI and MPP’s analyses, convenings, and tools support stakeholders working to advance zero-emissions trucking, low-carbon cement plants, sustainable aviation fuel, and decarbonized ports, by increasing the size, scale, and speed of critical climate investments that benefit the environment, the economy, and communities. This work is done in partnership with the Bezos Earth Fund.