California goes alternative

© Fiedler GroupThe station seems deserted today, but should be swarming with vehicles soon enough

Three projects will be carried out with the aforementioned sum, all of them aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and establishing more independence from petroleum-based fuels, even if the US are becoming self-sufficient in terms of oil mining and refining. The projects will be funded through the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP) and carried out by the University of California, U.S. General Services Administration and fuel provider Linde.

In detail, $11,2 million will go to an incentive program designed at wider adoption of vehicles running on natural gas. This program will be administered by the Regents of the University of California. The U.S. General Services Administration will use its $600 thousand to set up at least 50 EV charging stations at California's federal facilities, while the remaining $300 thousand will be used by Linde for operation, maintenance and data gathering for a recently-launched hydrogen refueling station (opened in Sacramento in December 2014).

Furthermore, the CEC approved some additional money for other environmentally-friendly initiatives: $4 million for two geothermal projects and $3,5 million for local projects concerning energy efficiency research. And all of this is hardly surprising, since California has been on the forefront of environmental protection since the first emission limits for cars were introduced back in the 1970s. Our favourite project is of course the one pumping money into NGV adoption, so we'll keep our fingers crossed for that one in particular.