The San Diego City Council recently approved an agreement to build hundreds of new electric vehicle charging stations in public facilities throughout the city, making it easier for residents and visitors to charge their electric cars when needed.
According to a news release from the city of San Diego, the council approved a contract between the city government and a consulting firm, True Upside Consulting LLC (TUC), which will be responsible for installing and maintaining the charging stations at public locations owned by the city government, such as libraries, parks, and other parking lots. These charging stations are scheduled to be added over the next two years.
Under the terms of the contract, TUC will pay the city government a fee for using these public facilities, but the company will own and operate the newly built charging stations. The city government may be required to repurchase the installed stations after 10 years, but the price cannot exceed $60 million. This agreement carries potential risks as well, as the city may be left footing the bill if the charging stations do not generate profits.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria stated in a press release, “This innovative public-private partnership will help provide more electric vehicle charging stations for San Diego residents throughout the city. This agreement reflects our commitment to advancing climate action initiatives, ensuring residents have convenient access to charging stations for their electric vehicles.”
The San Diego government mentioned that a California law in 2023 mandated the installation of electric vehicle charging stations at all new construction sites. However, this project is expanding the reach of charging stations to the broader community of San Diego, with parks, recreation centers, and libraries scattered throughout the city.
San Diego has over 400 parking lots owned by the city government, with nearly 100 located near parks, community centers, and libraries. These parking lots will be the focus of the initial phase of construction. In subsequent stages, chargers will be installed at city-owned locations such as beaches, office buildings, fire stations, and police stations.
A local electronics engineer in San Diego, Mr. Wei (pseudonym), mentioned that he owns a Tesla electric car and usually charges it at home with solar power during off-peak hours, which is more cost-effective than traditional gas-powered cars. He highlighted that for a trip from San Diego to Los Angeles, a single charge covers a distance of 90 miles and costs only $16 in electricity.
He emphasized that the shortage of charging stations is a significant deterrent for long-distance electric car travel. Increasing the number of charging stations promotes more people switching to electric vehicles. However, he cautioned that the promotion of electric cars in California to achieve zero-emission climate goals, through various incentives and subsidies, leads to environmental concerns. The increased production of electricity can contribute to pollution from batteries and solar panels used in electric cars, posing new environmental challenges.
City government officials are currently conducting surveys of parking lots at all city-owned parks, recreation centers, and libraries to determine the optimal locations for installing new charging stations.
The agreement also stipulates that existing charging stations in other public locations in San Diego will be converted to be operated by TUC to ensure a consistent user experience across all public charging stations in city parking lots, as they will be owned and operated by a single entity.