Expanding hydrogen fueling stations in California. The Energy Commission approved $18,690,000 in grants for projects that will expand the state’s fueling infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are expected to play an important role in reducing California's greenhouse gas emissions, and in advancing the Governor's Zero Emission Vehicles Action Plan goals of establishing enough infrastructure to support 1 million ZEV vehicles by 2020, with a goal of having 1.5 million ZEV vehicles on the roadways by 2025.

Further promoting this market is the recent establishment of a new federal Energy Department public-private partnership effort called H2USA, which includes Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Honda. (Earlier post.)

Fueling infrastructure must be in place to support the successful introduction of these vehicles. Studies suggest that 68 stations are needed by 2017 to support the market. Currently, nine public stations are operating, and about a dozen more are in development in California.

The hydrogen fueling award recipients are:

• South Coast Air Quality Management District will receive $6,690,828 to evaluate, test and upgrade publicly accessible hydrogen fueling stations. With the exception of a station in Emeryville (Alameda County), the stations covered by this award agreement are within the South Coast Air Basin, which includes all of Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

• Linde, LLC, will receive $4.5 million to install three hydrogen fueling stations in the cities of Mountain View and Cupertino (both in Santa Clara County), and Foster City (San Mateo County). The agreement includes a $3,069,948 match-funding requirement.

• Hydrogen Frontier, Inc., will receive $3 million to build a 100% renewable hydrogen fueling station in Chino (San Bernardino County). The award agreement includes a $1,615,385 match-funding requirement.

• Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., will receive $2,999,172 to install two hydrogen fueling stations and to automate two trailer loading operations for transporting hydrogen for fueling from a production facility in Southern California. The fueling stations will be located in Woodland Hills (Los Angeles County) and Mission Viejo (Orange County). The award agreement includes a $1,614,927 match-funding requirement.

• Air Liquide Industrial US LP, will receive $1.5 million to build a hydrogen fueling station in Anaheim (Orange County). The award agreement includes a $933,996 match-funding requirement

Alternative fuel vehicles awards. The Energy Commission also approved a package of $26,066,446 to projects that will boost the number of alternative fuel vehicles on the state’s roadways, and expand the fueling infrastructure to keep them running.

Approved awards include funding for new compressed natural gas fueling infrastructure; electric vehicle charging stations at grocery stores in Southern California; buy-down reservations to offset the cost of purchasing propane and natural gas vehicles, including 97 school buses; a clean vehicle rebate program; a biofuel facility that will convert organic waste into natural gas; and a US Department of Defense vehicle-to-grid demonstration project.

The award recipients are:

• The California Air Resources Board will receive $8 million in current fiscal year funds to provide additional funding for the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project for qualified electric drive vehicles. In making this award, the Commission also approved future consideration of adding $5 million to the rebate project in fiscal year 2013-2014, as proposed in the 2013-2014 Investment Plan Update for the Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. Since March 2010, the Air Resources Board has issued more than 23,500 rebates totaling more than $46 million through its Clean Vehicle Rebate Project. This effort builds on a productive partnership of public agencies to make progress in attaining a clean, sustainable transportation sector.

• Harvest Power Tulare, LLC, will receive two awards: $4,787,694 to build and operate a biofuel facility in Tulare County that will convert organic waste to biomethane, a renewable natural gas, using an on-site anaerobic digester; and $300,000 to build and operate a compressed natural gas fueling station, using the renewable natural gas produced from the anaerobic digester. The digester award includes an $8,958,143 match-funding requirement; the fueling station award includes a $1,027,590 match-funding requirement.

• Concurrent Technologies Corporation will receive $2 million to share costs in a US Department of Defense vehicle-to-grid demonstration project at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, in the western Mojave Desert region that includes parts of Kern, San Bernardino and Inyo counties. The project will include converting a portion of the non-tactical fleet to electric drive vehicles that will be able to connect to the electric power grid intelligently to ensure optimal electric power grid function.

• The South Coast Air Quality Management District received several awards. $1.6 million to retrofit five heavy duty electric trucks using a Siemens pantograph system, in which an overhead wire transmits electric power to a vehicle. The trucks will be used to demonstrate a zero emission goods movement system connecting local shipping ports for use on Alameda Street in the city of Carson (Los Angeles County) along the I-710 corridor.

  $300,000 to install and assess the performance of a smart-grid enabled fast-charging electric vehicle charging network. DC fast-charging systems typically provide 60 to 80 miles of range in just 20 minutes of charging. Smart-grid enabled charging refers to a system in which computerized controls manage charging to ensure optimal electric power grid function. The 20 charging stations will be located at Ralphs and Albertsons grocery stores in the South Coast Air Basin, which covers all of Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The award agreement includes a match funding share of $600,000.

• Aerovironment, Inc., will receive $1,707,847 to augment a current agreement, for a new total of $3,707,847. The additional money will be used to increase the number of installed Level 2 electric vehicle charging units from 770 to 1,425 in single-family and multi-unit housing throughout California. Level 2 electric vehicle charging systems use 208-240 volt power, and typically provide 10 to 20 miles of range for each hour of charging for a passenger vehicle.

• Alameda County Industries, LLC, will receive $300,000 to partially offset the cost of a new compressed natural gas fueling station to serve its fleet. Once operating, the station is expected to displace more than 179,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually as well as reduce harmful emissions. The award includes a $652,664 match-funding requirement.

• Bonita Unified School District in San Dimas (Los Angeles County) will receive $300,000 to establish and operate a new compressed natural gas fueling station in its school bus parking lot. The district will be able to reduce fleet travel by an estimated 16,000 miles per year because it won't have to rely on off-campus fueling. This award agreement includes a match funding share of $210,962.

• FirstCNG will receive $300,000 to construct a compressed natural gas fueling station in Lake Forest (Orange County) to support taxis and other commercial vehicles near the John Wayne Airport. This project is projected to displace 202,500 gallons of diesel fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emission by more than 725 metric tons a year. The award agreement includes a match funding share of $945,000.

• Garden City Sanitation, Inc., (Santa Clara County) will receive $300,000 to partially offset the cost of developing a new compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station to serve the company's expanding fleet of CNG refuse trucks. The station is expected to displace more than 350,000 gallons of diesel annually and significantly reduce harmful emissions. The agreement includes a $750,522 match-funding requirement.

• Lodi Unified School District (San Joaquin County) will receive $300,000 to install a compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station to serve the district's CNG fleet of 27 buses, and to allow the district to expand its fleet to 54 CNG buses. The station will also serve nearby school and public transit vehicles. The award includes a $808,648 match-funding requirement.

• Waste Management of California, Inc., will receive $300,000 to construct a compressed natural gas fueling station in Oceanside (San Diego County). Garbage trucks and other vehicles will use the station. The project is expected to display 382,200 gallons of diesel fuel per year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1,373 metric tons a year in the air basin. The award agreement includes a match funding share of $1.7 million.

• The Electric Power Research Institute, based in Palo Alto (Santa Clara County), will receive $220,908 to augment a current grant for the demonstration of five Odyne plug-in hybrid electric work trucks in the cities of Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The total funding for this project is now $1,185,118, and includes a matching fund requirement of $671,571.

• California Clean Fuels will receive $83,000 to upgrade an existing 24-hour, seven-day a week publicly accessible compressed natural gas station in Bellflower (Los Angeles County). The new equipment will allow the station to serve increasing numbers of heavy duty vehicles. The award includes a $91,543 match-funding requirement.

• CALSTART, Inc., will receive $14,997 for California Energy Commission membership in the California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative for three fiscal years, through 2014-2015. The membership will allow the Energy Commission to participate in the collaborative’s working groups to assist efforts to support the strategic deployment of electric vehicle charging equipment throughout California.

In addition, buy-down incentives totaling $5,252,000 will be awarded for 385 alternative-fuel vehicles. Of these, 250 will be propane vehicles, including 97 school buses; and 135 will be natural gas vehicles. These incentives help to pay the difference between alternative-fuel vehicles and conventional vehicles. They are available only for new natural gas and propane vehicles that meet all the emission requirements of the California Air Resources Board.

These buy-down incentives are reserved for vehicle manufacturers or their designated dealers and passed on to buyers in California at the time of sale. To receive the incentives, buyers must agree to register and operate the vehicles in California at least 90 percent of the time for three years.

The incentives go to the following companies:

• A-Z Bus Sales in Colton (San Bernardino County) will receive a total of $1,940,000 in buy-down reservations for 97 propane school buses of 14,001 pounds gross vehicle weight and greater.

• American Chevrolet in Modesto (Stanislaus County) will receive $20,000 for the buy-down of two propane vehicles of 14,001 to 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.

• American Honda Motor Company, Inc., in Torrance (Los Angeles County) will receive $198,000 for the buy-down of 66 natural gas vehicles of up to 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight.

• Big Valley Ford, Inc., in Stockton (San Joaquin County) will receive $198,000, of which $48,000 is reserved for the buy-down of eight propane vehicles of 8,501 to 14,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, and $150,000 is reserved for the buy-down of 15 propane vehicles of 14,001 to 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.

• Bonander Buick-GMC in Turlock (Stanislaus County) will receive $20,000 for the buy-down of two propane vehicles of 14,001 to 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.

• Creative Bus Sales, headquartered in Chino (San Bernardino County), will receive $600,000 for the buy-down of 60 propane vehicles of 14,001 to 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.

• Galpin Motors, Inc., doing business as Galpin Ford in North Hills (Los Angeles County), will receive $270,000, of which $150,000 will be reserved for the buy-down of 25 propane vehicles of 8,501 to 14,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, and $120,000 will be reserved for the buy-down of 12 propane vehicles of 14,001 to 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.

• Grech Motors, LLC, in Riverside (Riverside County) will receive $224,000 for the buy-down of seven natural gas vehicles of 26,001 pounds gross vehicle weight and greater.

• Greenkraft, Inc., in Santa Ana (Orange County) will receive $1,284,000, of which $400,000 is reserved for the buy-down of 20 natural gas vehicles of 14,001 to 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, and $884,000 is reserved for the buy-down of 34 natural gas vehicles of 26,001 pounds gross vehicle weight and greater.

• Harper Motors in Eureka (Humboldt County) will receive $60,000 for the buy-down of six propane vehicles of 14,001 to 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.

• Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc., in Anaheim (Orange County) will receive $200,000 for the buy-down of 20 propane vehicles of 14,001 to 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.

• Peterbilt Motors Company, with dealerships throughout California, will receive $208,000 for the buy-down of eight natural gas vehicles of 26,001 pounds gross vehicles weight and greater.

• Tom’s Truck Center North County, doing business as Carmenita Truck Center, in Santa Fe Springs (Los Angeles County) will receive $30,000 for the buy-down of three propane vehicles of 14,001 to 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.