Rep.SaludCarbajal
On Friday, January 26, Congressman Salud Carbajal and Congresswoman Julia Brownley presented a $12 million federal award from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand access to public electric vehicle charging in Ventura County, advancing the County’s goals of equitable mobility and energy resiliency.
The federal funds are projected to support the construction of 190 new EV chargers in Ventura County, including 42 public rapid charging stations.
“When Rep. Brownley and I were helping to move the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law forward through our roles on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, we understood that our goals of expanding use of zero-emission vehicles and cutting carbon pollution were only possible if we also approve investments in public charging infrastructure,” said Congressman Salud Carbajal. “I’m proud to see mine and Rep. Brownley’s work helping to write and pass that landmark law now delivering our community such a robust return on that investment. I look forward to seeing this grant helping to create new charging availability across Ventura County.”
“The promise of greener, healthier communities holds great weight in the work that I do in Congress. Alongside advocating for environmental sustainability efforts and taking action to address the climate crisis with the urgency this existential issue demands, I am working to ensure that Ventura County residents have safe and reliable modes of transportation and transit to travel to and from their destinations,” said Congresswoman Julia Brownley. “That is why I am proud to have joined the County of Ventura and its community partners in securing funding for this transformational project. Because of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and more specifically this grant funding for EV charging infrastructure, the County of Ventura will make critical investments so that residents, businesses, and visitors to the region are able to utilize a cleaner, safer, and more accessible transportation network, while creating jobs and strengthening our economy.”
“The receipt of these funds is monumental for Ventura County and will go far toward the expansion of sustainable energy infrastructure in the county,” stated Supervisor Kelly Long, Chair of the Board of Supervisors. “The County of Ventura is grateful to have been selected by the Department of Transportation to receive this grant and for the opportunity to create a significant investment in green energy. We’re delighted to have the support from Congresswoman Brownley and Congressman Carbajal which helped secure this funding.”
The funds provided through the Department of Transportation will go to support the “Powering Progress” project, a $15 million Ventura County initiative to implement the Ventura County Regional EV Blueprint and support the larger sustainability goals set forward by the state of California to achieve 100 percent zero emission vehicle sales.
The funding for the “Powering Progress” initiative will create several unique investments in sustainability that will serve as a model for EV infrastructure in the state. The grant will provide funds to invest in E-bike integration to support multi-modal opportunities for those who rely on bikes as their primary mode of transportation. As well, the funds will allow for the creation and expansion of workforce development programs to train workers in the installation, maintenance, and operation of the expanding EV charging infrastructure.
The “Powering Progress” project also addresses the need for resiliency in the local EV infrastructure by proposing the creation of off-grid EV charging combined with large-scale and small-scale solar battery storage. This element of the project supports both the residents of Ventura County and first responders by enabling a reliable power supply during emergency outages as well as Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events.
More information about “Powering Progress” and other Ventura County sustainability initiatives and green energy projects can be found at: www.vcenergy.org
Through their role as members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Congressman Carbajal and Congresswoman Brownley helped write and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law over the course of 2021.
To date, the Central Coast has received over $600 million for more than 100 projects from the infrastructure law, including:
- More than $200 million for road, bridge, and highway upgrades across the Central Coast, including $75 million to fund an extension of the HOV lanes on Highway 101
- $47 million to support clean water projects across the region, including $14 million to support the Ventura Water Pure Program and $9 million to support the Carpinteria Advanced Purification Project
- $12 million for the Gold Coast Transit District for low and no emission buses
A map of some of the investments funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can be found at Invest.gov.
Rep. Salud Carbajal represents California’s 24th Congressional District, encompassing Santa Barbara County and portions of San Luis Obispo County and Ventura County. He is a member of the Agriculture and Armed Services Committees, as well as the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he serves as the top Democrat on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee.
Way to go! Infrastructure is critical. Providing charging stations to the ever increasing number of EV cars is a great move. THIS is what makes California great! Progress.
Republicans across the country who voted against the bill are taking credit for the funds being available to their districts, as their unscrupulous selves are wont to do. But here in CA and particularly in SB our representatives actually worked hard to make it a reality.
The charging stations should be donated to the EV dealers that have their stock of EV’s sitting on their lots.
Thanks again!
More pork being served up at taxpayer expense, yet again. Just like pigs eating from the trough! $12 million to benefit a small minority of motorists. You’d think if EV’s were so popular the technology could pay its way without subsidies! Ya, that’s right, lefty’s patting themselves on the back and congratulating each other on how they are actually saving us money and saving the planet at the same time! Kind of like bike lanes, spending tens of millions to benefit a small interest group . .How about taking that money and investing in high speed commuter rail, benefiting all! The child slaves in Congo which mine the rare earth minerals used for EV batteries are grateful for the funding!
Mention electric vehicles, cue the cretinous responses.
You gotta wonder why Hertz dumped their ENTIRE fleet of electric vehicles… Deals abound on electric vehicles at dealerships. In Europe, they are now charging high registration fees based on the weight of cars- Electric vehicles are waaaay heavier due to the heavy metals mined and harvested for there batteries. So the owners are now looking to dump them. But hey, they fulfill the “Green Agenda” . LOL!
Well, it’s still better than the “Oil Agenda” that you lot keep clinging to. Don’t worry though, we’ll be just fine and the world will be a better and cleaner place for our grandkids. You’re welcome.
Sac – curious, we know oil is bad but the cost to integrate “clean energy” has so far not been much better.
What do you think about a bio fuel program that is designed to be sustainable from the start? I do not know the exact science with regards to emissions but theoretically as long as a certain biomass is grown continuously (seaweed or algae, but corn is too detrimental on that scale) then converted to the necessary fuel, most, if not all of the emissions are recaptured by the growing the biomatter.
Basically using a continuous carbon sink that is maintained to match the demand of fuel
Fantasy promoted by Big Carbon to prolong their profits.
STONER – it really hasn’t been that bad. New tech will always have issues. We can’t expect it to be perfect right off the bat. Problem is, renewable sources of energy are worth a little dirt as we try to perfect them but so many demand all or nothing. Oil has been imperfect and filthy since the get go. Do you really want to continue that route?
Something is ALWAYS better than nothing. The tech is advancing rapidly. The constant crying about “not perfectly green” only holds us back while our children and grandkids suffer. Oil will never be even close to perfect. Why do we insist on using it?
Respectfully, I don’t believe it hasn’t been that bad. The same issues with the Tesla batteries exist with solar, toxic metals, non renewables, and large footprint to distribute, for relative lack in output. Same large footprint for wind farms when the turbines are made in other countries and then shipped.
If the U.S. puts in the work to establish manufacturing capability for those locally then yes, or if the output vs lifetime increases then go for it.
But I don’t think oil has been much worse when most of the renewables rely so heavily on it for their production, distribution and integration.
I know people have a problem with nuclear but it’s really the most feasible non-carbon energy source we have at the moment considering it’s lack of a carbon footprint once it’s operational and how the energy produced quickly cancels the emissions required to get it going
Do a little research, and you’ll find out that you’ve fallen for the petroleum industry’s propaganda by:
1) Ignoring all the harmful effects and monetary costs of the extraction, transportation, and burning of heavily-subsidized fossil fuels.
2) Greatly exaggerating those same effects from green technologies.
Nuclear power from fission is hideously expensive, slow to come on line, and produces waste that is hazardous for millennia. The fossil fuel industries know that it isn’t viable, so they promote it to prolong their profits.
The “new-design small reactors” are completely mythical at this point.
Thats ra’ging optimism, Sac. Good luck with that, really.
Excuse my fumbling fingers: That’s raging optimism.
Hertz is selling a lot of its electric car fleet which is further proof of the incompentence of Hertz which has been had to go through bankruptcy and refinancing and retolling to get back into competition. The decision to buy a lot of electric cars for a rental company was suspect out of the gate. Novice electric car owners are nervous about range and recharging. People who are renting cars are generally using them to visit or travel which means they are unsure of the resources for charging and have no home station to do so overnight. Etc. So Hertz is just undoing a marketing mistake, it is not that the cars are the problem. Electric car sales are continuing to climb, infrastructure is continuing to grow and the joy of quiet cars with quick acceleration and environmental credits is growing. (Remember, when gasoline engines first came onto the scene people had to buy their fuel in 5 gallon cans from the local hardware store.)
Electric vehicles are a bust and failure on so many levels… SAVE the $12 Million for HYDROGEN power, which is cleaner and cheaper. The problem will be hydrogen fill stations. Buy stock now!
Huh. That’s so weird. I’ve been driving full electric cars for nine years now. I currently own two. I’ve never been left anywhere by a mechanical breakdown or charging issue. I don’t have to waste my time trying to find a gas station and fill up. The cost to fuel my car is about 25% what it would be if I were driving ICE vehicle and partially supplied by my solar system. The only maintenance I’ve done in the last five or six years is tire changes. My current Teslas are fast quiet, super comfortable and a pleasure to drive.
If these cars didn’t exist I’d still buy a similar price “luxury” vehicle because I like comfort it’s my money and that’s what I want to do with it.
The future of battery systems is rapidly evolving to phase out those elements that people like you “claim” to be so upset about.
Yeah, from where I’m sitting and driving, that sure doesn’t look like failure.
Extra trigger sauce for Basic today. Dialed in? I own the cars I own. Why does that stress you out.
Sorry Alex, my bad – had a moment there where I wanted to call out a ‘surfer’/Tesla poseur. I guess I’m wrong. See ya out there?
Mention electric vehicles or green technologies, and you trigger the cretins.
Hydrogen fuel for non-commercial vehicles is a pipe dream, and as such is promoted by the fossil fuel industry to delay transition to better technologies. Both the production and safe containment of hydrogen are expensive and hazardous, but the current method of producing it utilizes fossil fuels.