The Bay Area Climate Collaborative is pleased to announce that Sonoma County has been selected as the “Most EV-Ready Community 2011” for its wide-ranging policies to accelerate widespread electric vehicle (EV) adoption and municipal usage of EVs. The City of Vacaville was runner up.

In 2008, Mayors Newsom, Reed and Dellums set a goal of establishing the Bay Area the “EV Capital of the United States.” This award recognizes those communities doing exemplary work towards achieving this goal by recognizing their efforts to catalyze the EV market, which will reduce dependence on petroleum, improve national security, stem the flow of US resources abroad and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Eleven agencies were nominated for the award and their submittals were judged based upon number of installed and proposed charging stations, adopted policies and ordinances in support of EV charging stations, ease of permitting for EV charging stations, outreach and education to catalyze the EV market, and a number of other criteria.

By unanimous decision of the expert review panel, Sonoma County was selected as the winner. Reviewers praised Sonoma County for their comprehensive work to assimilate EV technologies,  and highlighted their community outreach and education as having removed significant barriers to EV adoption. Their work to streamline the permitting process, expand their EV fleet, and robust plans to install public and fleet charging stations distinguish Sonoma County as a leader in spurring EV adoption in the Bay Area.

As runner-up, the City of Vacaville was commended by the expert review panel for their numerous charging station installations and their same day/over-the-counter permit review that facilitates rapid EV charging station installation.

The expert review committee played a crucial role in the success of this award program and included the following representatives:

• Andrew Michael – Bay Area Council
• Ben Tarbell – SolarCity
• Brenda Dix – Metropolitan Transportation Commission
• Jason Smith – ECOtality
• Jim Helmer – LightMoves Consulting
• Lynette Mandal and Michael Jones – Coulomb Technologies
• Ryan Prosser – Green  Charge Networks

Congratulations to Sonoma County and the City of Vacaville, two of the Bay Area’s most EV-ready communities!

“The Electric Vehicles are here – Now what?” is the theme of the upcoming 2011 Charged EV Symposium coming up on June 2nd and 3rd  at SAP Labs in Palo Alto.  The Symposium will be hosted by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and the Bay Area Climate Collaborative, who are working effortlessly to boost collaboration so we can answer that key EV question.

Almost all of the major auto manufacturers including Nissan, Chevy, Mitsubishi, and BMW are releasing or getting ready to release electric vehicles.  What do we do now that the cars are arriving?  How do we prepare our electrical grid, our public infrastructure, and our permitting processes to accommodate electric vehicle adoption?

The Bay Area has been a leader in answering many of these questions, with cities such as San Francisco and San Jose stepping up and making major investments in the EV space, and tackling these issues head on.  The Bay Area is also home to many cutting-edge EV companies including Better Place, Coulomb, Tesla, and Green Charge Networks, who are collaborating to catalyze the EV market in the Bay Area. “The 2011 Charged EV Symposium being held in Silicon Valley is one step of many towards catalyzing the EV market and working to establish the Bay Area as the EV Capital of the world. ” Carl Guardino, President & CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership group.

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group is partnering with the Bay Area Climate Collaborative to showcase the best practices in the region while providing the opportunity to work proactively on finding solutions to identified challenges at the Charged: EV Symposium.  The day and a half event will feature speakers from UPS, Google, City CarShare, Coda, GM and PG&E.  The Symposium will include hands-on workshops, plenary sessions, and presentations focused on Community EV-Readiness.  The audience will include charging station manufacturers, public and private companies interested in utilizing EVs in their fleets, residential developers, building officials, public works staff, planning staff, utility staff and regulators. “We have a unique opportunity,” said Rafael Reyes, Director,  Bay Area Climate Collaborative, “if just 10% of Bay Area vehicles were plug-in vehicles, drivers would save upwards of $1 billion a year. Instead of contributing to the majority of the US trade deficit as it does today, this is money that would go into the local economy and create jobs.”

Please visit the event web site to learn more about the symposium and register to attend so you can voice your opinions to shape the EV market in the Bay Area.

On April 6, 2011, the Business Council on Climate Change and Bay Area Council jointly released a new guide for businesses on electric vehicles (EV) and electric vehicle charging stations. The thirty-page guide, Electrify Your Business, inspires and engages local business owners, corporate executives and elected officials to embrace the EV revolution.

This step-by-step guide helps businesses play a role in the build-out of a Bay Area network of EV charging station infrastructure. It provides the business case for EVs, helpful financial and logistical implementation details, a practical checklist for getting started, and numerous other data points and helpful resources including:

1. An overview of Bay Area commercial and municipal electric vehicle deployment to date
2. Cost of operations estimates for electric versus internal combustion engine vehicles
3. Charging infrastructure installation costs
4. A practical checklist for getting started
5. Many other resources and tools

This is a great tool to help your business join the EV revolution!

Government Fleet Expo and Conference is the largest government fleet management event in the nation that targets all levels of public sector fleets.  The conference, which will occur in San Diego on June 6th-8th, includes results-oriented education sessions , including a session about the Local Government Electric Vehicle Fleet Project, which is a partnership between the BACC and 11 agencies throughout the Bay area.  Attendees will receive actionable plans in every session to run fleets more efficiently and improve their track record.  GFX also offers the opportunity to network and connect with fleet managers from all levels of the public sector.   Other bonuses include a certificate of completion and free one-on-one advice from consultants in the Exhibit Hall Solutions Center.  Participants can save $100 by taking advantage of the early bird discount by May 20th.