California

California has reached 1.5 million electric vehicle sales two years ahead of its planned 2025 target for the sales milestone, according to the California Energy Commission.

With EV demand soaring, California is not the first place to reach its EV sales goals early, and it won’t be the last.

Vietnamese EV automaker Vinfast just relayed that its new VF 8 electric SUV has been added to the list of eligible vehicles under the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) created by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). New and existing VinFast customers can now qualify for up to $7,500 in tax rebates in California, which can extend to other participating states. Learn how to apply below.

Solar electric vehicle startup Aptera Motors shared encouraging news today as it has been awarded a grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to the tune of $21 million. The grant comes as welcomed news for Aptera as it looks to reach scaled production of its namesake solar EV as one of the few startups left trying to successfully scale the sustainable technology for the masses.

You read that right. Poop. Manure. Cow pies. US Dairy farming remains a massive contributor of greenhouse gas methane emitted by its endless lanes of cattle providing milk to the public. California in particular currently sits at as the US dairy farming mecca, but also accounts for nearly half of the methane emissions in the entire state. New recycling methods have been put into place and automakers like BMW have utilized their carbon offsets to power its EVs, but many argue this is greenwashing and the entire incentive program encourages more emissions, not less.

During a press conference yesterday, supervisors in Imperial County, California, announced they had voted unanimously to offer tax rebates, property tax deductions, and the potential for further incentives to any and all battery manufacturers willing to produce Lithium products within the county’s lines. The county shared it is also seeking federal funding and state programs to support its “Lithium Valley” project with hopes of bringing more battery manufacturing to California.

Endera, which manufactures mid-sized commercial EVs, just scored the largest state EV bus contract in the United States to date. 

Construction has started on a power line between California and Arizona that’s going to have the capacity to carry 3.2 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy.

California is set to join a number of other cities and states in the US by offering rebates and tax credits for electric bicycles. California’s Electric Bicycle Incentives Project has been over a year in the making, and we recently saw new updates to the planned rebates.

Eco Wave Power is officially unveiling its onshore wave energy power station at public-private ocean institute AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles tomorrow.

There’s a growing number of affordably priced electric motorcycles hitting the US market, but many are still produced overseas. Thanks to a $20M California grant though, electric motorcycle manufacturer RYVID will be able to build its RYVID Anthem bikes in the Golden State and create hundreds of jobs in the process.

Tesla is showing some strong resilience in California’s crashing car market and is helping boost EV market share to a new record.

California announced that electric car sales represent nearly 18% of new car sales in the state compared to 6% for the whole of the United States.

The US Department of the Interior today announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold an offshore wind energy lease sale on December 6, 2022, off central and northern California. It’s also the first-ever US sale to support potential commercial-scale floating offshore wind energy development.

California has passed a series of climate bills setting a 2045 net-zero carbon goal, establishing carbon capture guidelines, banning new oil wells from residential areas, extending the timeline to keep Diablo Canyon Nuclear plant open for another five years, and more.

In March 2021, Electrek reported that scientists published a feasibility study about the benefits of erecting solar panels over canals. That study is about to become a reality when a pilot project breaks ground in California.

The California Air Resources Board voted unanimously today to implement perhaps its most significant regulation ever – the Advanced Clean Cars II regulation, which officially implements a planned ban on new gas car sales beginning in 2035 and could shake up the entire US auto market.

Capistrano Volkswagen/Mazda, a car dealership in San Juan Capistrano, California, has partnered with San Diego-based solar and battery installation company Stellar Solar to offer EV customers solar, battery storage, and EV connectivity to power their cars with clean energy.

For the first time ever, California, the world’s fifth-largest economy, was powered by 100% clean energy on Saturday, April 30. That milestone was driven largely by solar power.

Volvo Cars has announced plans to launch its new Ride Pilot unsupervised autonomous driving feature to customers in the state of California, and it will make its debut in an all-new, all-electric flagship SUV set to make its debut later this year.

California will ban “small off-road engines” (SORE) primarily used in gas-powered lawn equipment, such as leaf blowers and lawnmowers, in a law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom this weekend.

More than 70 large companies and investors representing $30 billion in assets sent a letter today to governors across the US urging the acceleration of the switch to zero-emission trucks, vans, and other large commercial vehicles. Will their letter make an impact?