Two new electric vehicle charging stations were unveiled Friday last week, along with an existing station that has been refurbished. The charging stations were paid for by a state grant program that places Malibu at the forefront of alternative energy transportation technology.
By Oscar Antonino / Special to The Malibu Times
Malibu Mayor John Sibert wielded the giant scissors last Friday as two new free-access electric vehicle (EV) charging stations were unveiled in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Malibu’s Civic Center. A third charger that has been at the location for more than 10 years has also been refurbished, enabling owners of older EVs to charge their cars.
“As gas prices continue to rise, along with an ongoing need to preserve and protect the environment, more and more people are looking into alternative energy vehicles for their transportation needs,” Malibu Mayor John Sibert said. “The city’s efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of vehicle traffic by installing new free-access electric vehicle charging stations illustrates our commitment to helping create a cleaner environment for future generations.”
The two new chargers, which look like parking meters and are located on Civic Center Way in front of the Malibu Courthouse, were paid for entirely by the state’s California Energy Commission (CEC) grant, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The state grant allows for the upgrade of 1,200 outdated charging stations scattered throughout California. ClipperCreek, a northern California company that manufactures EV charging stations, was awarded the contract to replace nearly half of those stations.
The CEC mandates that all the chargers be free to the public. Therefore, cities or counties must agree to pay for the cost of the electricity. The city of Malibu will pay the cost of the electricity for all three chargers, which are operated by Southern California Edison.
However, the city will soon receive $16,000 in rebates from Southern California Edison for the energy-efficient remodel of its new city hall, which will help offset some of the costs of the electricity for the new EV chargers.
Malibu is among the first recipients of the new EV chargers, and is the first beach city to receive them, beating out Santa Monica in that race. Santa Monica, which is among the leaders in Southern California in terms of the number of its EV charging stations, will begin having its chargers upgraded as early as next month.
Malibu originally installed two EV charging stations in 2000, but with EV manufacturers using different technologies to charge their vehicles, these stations soon became obsolete and non-functional.
In 2009, Rob Duboux, senior civil engineer for the City of Malibu, asked ClipperCreek’s Len Fein to reach out to the city council so that it could be among the first wave of installations. Fein was initially met with resistance after he quoted the actual cost of the chargers. But with the arrangement of grant monies, the city eventually approved the installation.
The two new chargers are compliant with the new generation of EVs that are now manufactured under uniform specifications for North America with what is known as the SAE J1772 connector. Current EV models compatible with the new connector include the GM Volt PHEV and the Nissan Leaf EV. Other models are expected to join in as early as next year, including the Toyota Prius Plug-In, the new Toyota Rav4 EV, and the Tesla Model S.
The existing charger was fixed by the Electric Auto Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the advancement of EVs. However, this refurbished charger does not support the new connector. It was kept because the EAA felt it was important to continue to supply support for the approximately 300 owners of the older Toyota Rav4 EV model, which the city hopes to one day be able to use as their fleet vehicles.
City officials believe the older models will be more affordable for the city as consumers begin upgrading to the new SAE J1772-compliant models.