Amended  IN  Senate  March 20, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 233

Introduced by Senator Skinner

January 24, 2023

An act relating to energy. An act to add Chapter 8.8 (commencing with Section 44269) to Part 5 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to transportation electrification.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 233, as amended, Skinner. Energy: new zero-emission Electricvehicles and electric vehicle supply equipment: bidirectional capability.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to undertake various actions in furtherance of meeting the state’s clean energy and pollution reduction objectives, including actions related to electric vehicles. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, working with the State Air Resources Board and the Public Utilities Commission, to prepare a statewide assessment of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure needed to support the levels of electric vehicle adoption required for the state to meet its goals of putting at least 5,000,000 zero-emission vehicles on California roads by 2030, and of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. Existing law requires the state board, in conjunction with the Energy Commission, to develop and administer a program to provide grants to individuals, local governments, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private businesses to encourage the purchase or lease of a new zero-emission vehicle.
This bill would state the Legislature’s intent to enact future legislation to mandate that all new zero-emission vehicles and electric vehicle supply equipment sold in California have bidirectional capability by January 1, 2027, to the extent practical as determined by the commission. require the Energy Commission, in consultation with the state board, to establish state goals to accelerate the use of vehicle-to-home, vehicle-to-building, and vehicle-to-grid, as described, in order to support emergency backup, electrical grid reliability, electric vehicle grid integration, and any other key metrics identified by the Energy Commission, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission and state board to allocate moneys appropriated for purposes of funding electric vehicles and electric vehicle service equipment to provide higher incentive levels for bidirectional capable, as defined, electric vehicles and electric vehicle service equipment, and, in administering programs that incentivize electric vehicle and electric vehicle service equipment deployment, to ensure that disadvantaged communities, as defined, receive meaningful health, economic, and clean energy resilience benefits from state electric vehicle and electric vehicle service equipment funding.
This bill would require that, beginning in model year 2027, all new electric vehicles sold in California be bidirectional capable, including light-duty passenger vehicles and school buses, except as exempted by the state board. The bill would require that all electric vehicle service equipment installed on or after January 1, 2027, be bidirectional capable, except as exempted by the Energy Commission.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) California was the first state to adopt an energy storage procurement mandate to assist renewable energy integration and electrical grid reliability.
(b) Batteries in electric vehicles are storage resources and have the potential to be deployed to assist in renewable energy integration and electrical grid reliability and during emergencies, including power outages.
(c) Wildfires, heatwaves, and other climate change-fueled extreme weather events pose an increasing threat to the reliability of California’s electrical grid.
(d) One response to power outages in California has been to rely on fossil-fueled backup generators, which contribute to the emissions of greenhouse gases and local air pollution.
(e) Development of bidirectional electric vehicle infrastructure will provide access to a significant reserve of dispatchable electricity that will help ensure continuous electrical service for California. In 2022, the State Air Resources Board adopted the Advanced Clean Cars II rule that requires 100 percent of electric vehicles sales by 2035 and, in 2020, the State Air Resources Board adopted the Advanced Clean Truck rule that requires increasing percentages of electric vehicle sales starting in 2024. These electric vehicles could provide critical electricity to the electrical grid if enabled to do so.
(f) As California builds out electric vehicle service equipment in order to meet the charging needs of an anticipated 8,000,000 electric vehicles by 2030, there is a unique opportunity to leverage significant federal, state, and private sector investments in electric vehicles and electric vehicle service equipment to ensure they are bidirectionally capable.
(g) Peak electricity demand is the primary driver behind the use of fossil fuel peaker power plants, the emissions of which disproportionately impact disadvantaged communities.
(h) The charging cycle of bidirectional capable electric vehicles can be scheduled away from peak demand times to periods with excess and lower-cost renewable electricity generation, allowing the dispatchable energy capacity of bidirectional capable electric vehicles to serve as an alternative to fossil fuel peaker power plants, mitigating the air pollution and public health impacts on disadvantaged communities.
(i) Supporting market scalability of bidirectional charging has the potential to lower electricity costs in California and maximize reliability and resilience benefits to consumers and the electrical grid, especially when bidirectional capable electric vehicles are colocated with distributed onsite energy resources.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 8.8 (commencing with Section 44269) is added to Part 5 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER  8.8. Electric Vehicles

44269.
 (a) For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Bidirectional capable” means the ability of an electric vehicle to both charge and discharge electricity through electric vehicle service equipment, as modified pursuant to Section 44269.3.
(2) “Bidirectional charging” means charging capability that enables an electric vehicle to either be charged by the electrical grid or an onsite energy resource, or discharge stored energy capacity to the electrical grid or to serve an adjacent home or building.
(3) “Bidirectional electric vehicle service equipment” means electric vehicle service equipment capable of both charging and discharging electricity from an electric vehicle.
(4) “Board” means the State Air Resources Board.
(5) “Commission” means the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.
(6) “Disadvantaged communities” means communities identified as disadvantaged communities pursuant to Section 39711.
(7) “Electric vehicle” means a battery electric or hybrid vehicle that uses an electric battery and electric motor for mobility.
(8) “Electric vehicle service equipment” has the same meaning as defined in Section 44268.
(9) “Interoperability” means the ability of electric vehicle and electric vehicle service equipment products to access a common platform for delivering the full spectrum of distributed energy benefits and electrical grid services.
(10) “Publicly available” has the same definition as “publicly available parking space” as defined in Section 44268.
(11) “Unidirectional electric vehicle service equipment” means electric vehicle service equipment only capable of charging, but not discharging electricity from, an electric vehicle.
(12) “Vehicle-to-everything” refers to the energy technology through which an electric vehicle is used as a mobile battery and the battery’s stored energy can be used for benefits, including powering a home (vehicle-to-home), a building (vehicle-to-building), a microgrid, or another vehicle, or providing electricity to the electrical grid (vehicle-to-grid).
(b) The definitions provided in this section may be modified or updated pursuant to Section 44269.3.

44269.1.
 The commission, in consultation with the board, shall establish state goals to accelerate the use of vehicle-to-home, vehicle-to-building, and vehicle-to-grid, as those terms are used in Section 44269, in order to support emergency backup, electrical grid reliability, electric vehicle grid integration, as defined in Section 740.16 of the Public Utilities Code and Public Utilities Commission Decision 20-12-029 (December 21, 2020), Decision Concerning Implementation of Senate Bill 676 and Vehicle-Grid Integration Strategies, and any other key metrics identified by the commission. In establishing the state goals, the commission and board shall prioritize investments in disadvantaged communities so that disadvantaged communities receive meaningful health, economic, and clean energy resilience benefits of vehicle-to-everything.

44269.2.
 (a) To the extent authorized under state law, the commission and the board shall allocate moneys appropriated for purposes of funding electric vehicles and electric vehicle service equipment to provide higher incentive levels for bidirectional capable electric vehicles and electric vehicle service equipment.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that, on and after July 1, 2024, state moneys appropriated for electric vehicles and electric vehicle service equipment incentives prioritize bidirectional capability.
(c) In administering programs that incentivize electric vehicle and electric vehicle service equipment deployment, the commission and board shall ensure that disadvantaged communities receive meaningful health, economic, and clean energy resilience benefits from state electric vehicle and electric vehicle service equipment funding.
(d) This section does not authorize a delay in the provision of state incentives for electric vehicles and electric vehicle service equipment.

44269.3.
 (a) On or before December 31, 2024, the commission and board, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, shall, by regulation, modify the definition of “bidirectional capable” for electric vehicles and electric vehicle service equipment in order to specify nonproprietary technical interoperability requirements to support electrical grid reliability and resilience by providing emergency backup electricity or electrical grid services to comply with this chapter. As part of that modified definition, at the time of sale, all necessary electric vehicle and electric vehicle service equipment components, and their operational parameters, shall be required to support and enable bidirectional capability for purposes of compliance with this chapter.
(b) The commission and board may periodically update the definition of “bidirectional capable” and other definitions, including those provided in Section 44269, to ensure the definitions align with current technologies in bidirectional charging and account for ongoing innovation.

44269.4.
 (a) Beginning in model year 2027, all new electric vehicles sold in California shall be bidirectional capable, including light-duty passenger vehicles and school buses, except as specified in subdivision (b).
(b) The board may exempt from this section vehicles for which it determines there is not a likely beneficial bidirectional-capable use case.

44269.5.
 (a) All electric vehicle service equipment installed on or after January 1, 2027, shall be bidirectional capable, except as specified in subdivision (b).
(b) The commission may exempt from this section electric vehicle service equipment for which it determines there is not a likely beneficial bidirectional-capable use case.

SECTION 1.

(a)This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Electric Vehicle Energy Reliability Green (EVERGreen) Act of 2023.

(b)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1)Wildfires, heatwaves, and other climate change-fueled extreme weather events pose an increasing threat to the reliability of California’s electrical grid.

(2)The primary response to power outages in California has been to rely on fossil-fueled backup generators, which contribute to the emissions of greenhouse gases and local air pollution.

(3)Disadvantaged communities suffer disproportionately from power outages and should be prioritized for state energy resiliency efforts.

(4)Development of bidirectional electric vehicle infrastructure will provide access to a significant reserve of dispatchable electricity that will help ensure continuous electrical service for California.

(5)Bidirectional electric vehicles can offer flexible grid capacity as “power plants on wheels” to power homes, schools, community centers, and essential services during blackouts.

(6)Peak electricity demand is the primary driver behind the use of fossil fuel peaker power plants, the emissions of which disproportionately impact disadvantaged communities.

(7)The charging cycle of bidirectional electric vehicles can be scheduled away from peak demand times on the electrical grid and the dispatchable energy capacity of bidirectional electric vehicles can serve as an alternative to fossil fuel peaker power plants, thereby mitigating the air pollution in, and public health impacts on, disadvantaged communities.

(8)Supporting market scalability of bidirectional charging will lower electricity costs for California and maximize benefits to the electrical grid.

(9)Supporting workforce development and training is critical to achieving California’s clean energy future.

SEC. 2.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation to mandate that all new zero-emission vehicles and electric vehicle supply equipment sold in California have bidirectional capability by January 1, 2027, to the extent practical as determined by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.