Santa Monica Installs 24 New Beachside EV Chargers

October 28, 2020 9:04 AM
by Ariana Vito

Santa Monica is committed to expanding EV charging options to make it easier for residents, employees, and visitors to drive cleaner vehicles. Beach Lot 5 South (2701 Barnard Way near Ocean View Park) now has 24 new electric vehicle (EV) charging ports and two utility boxes-turned-artwork. The Level 2 (240-volt) ChargePoint chargers were installed by Southern California Edison’s Charge Ready Program, which provides funding for EV charging infrastructure to support EV adoption. To help recover operating costs, a user fee of $0.30 per kilowatt-hour is applied to charging sessions.

The City worked with artist RFX1 to paint the utility boxes and turn an eyesore into eye-catching art pieces. Residents from the Ocean Park Association helped review the designs, which incorporate sustainability and cleantech themes.

There are 150 City-owned public EV charge ports in Santa Monica, with more planned throughout the City envisioned in the EV Action Plan. Click here to see a map of existing chargers.

Replacing fossil-fueled vehicles with EVs is crucial to reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality. Santa Monica aims to reach 80% emissions reductions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050 or sooner with strategies outlined in the Climate Action & Adaptation Plan. Electrifying transportation is a key component to achieving this target and is an especially green option in Santa Monica where nearly all municipal power is supplied by 100% renewable sources through the Clean Power Alliance.

As of January 2019, fully electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles made up 4.3% of registered vehicles in Santa Monica. There is a long way to go to reach wide-scale adoption, but this is a considerable increase compared to 1.8% in 2016.

Just last month, Governor Newsome issued an executive order requiring sales of all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035. Cities, utilities, and private charging companies throughout the state are working hard to add EV chargers in order to meet the growing demand.  

Rebates of up to $1,000 are available for residents of multi-family buildings and for small businesses through the City’s EV Charger Rebate Program. Additional funding is available for low-income residents and through the Air Quality Management District’s Residential EV Charging Program.  

To learn more about the City’s EV charging programs and policies visit smgov.net/electricvehicles.

Considering switching to an EV? Compare models and review available incentives at electricforall.org.

Authored By

Ariana Vito
Sustainability Analyst