California looks to spend another $100 million in 2010-2011 under a mandate from a 2007 state law (AB 118) to help reduce gasoline-powered transportation in favor of renewables and alternatives such as natural gas-powered transportation. The California Energy Commission (CEC) has formally begun the process of writing a 2010-11 investment plan for the state’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program.

The CEC is in the process of establishing a new stakeholder advisory committee to help write the investment plan, which will establish the priorities for the projects ultimately selected for funding. Based on the 2009-10 plan, electric vehicle (EV) technologies, including plug-in hybrids, hydrogen and natural gas vehicles (NGV) will get the vast bulk of the funding among six basic technologies that include ethanol, propane and renewable diesel/biodiesel, along with EV, hydrogen and NGV technologies.

Among the technologies in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 investment plans, which totaled $176 million, the CEC allocated $46 million for EVs, $43 million for NGVs, $40 million for hydrogen, $12 million for ethanol, $6 million for renewable diesel/biodiesel and $2 million for propane. The rest of the CEC funding ($27 million) was aimed at marketing/program development for training, studies, standards, public outreach/education and technical assistance/analysis.

Calling it a “landmark program,” the CEC said the statewide effort has the dual purpose of providing “a foundation for sustainable development and use of transportation energy and an economic stimulus to create California jobs and businesses.” Ideally, the CEC wants the program to foster the invention and production of technologies and services needed for future transportation systems.

AB 118 mandated that the CEC fund the program as a means of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050, while reducing petroleum fuel use by 15% below 2003 levels by 2020. As specified in AB 118, the CEC-run program is designed to run for at least seven year at up to $120 million annually.

Under the current investment plan, EV funding is spread among plug-in hybrid passenger vehicle retrofits, medium- and heavy-duty hybrid research and demonstration projects, nonroad deployment projects in ports and truck stops, charging stations and manufacturing original EV equipment. The hydrogen dollars are aimed entirely at fueling stations, and NGV monies are spread among vehicles of various sizes, fueling stations and biomethane production plants.

“In this and subsequent investment plans, the CEC will focus on and leverage those technologies that show the most promise and market potential, and will balance that focus with the need to have a robust portfolio approach to technology development,” said the latest CEC report on the investment plan.

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