SkyCharger, a developer of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, has been awarded a $10 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to design, construct and operate two publicly accessible electric truck stops along I-5 in Southern California.
The grant, awarded under CECʼs Critical Paths 2.0 solicitation, will help fund deployment of 32 high capacity fast charging stations in Kettleman City, and Lebec, California, capable of charging 64 heavy-duty trucks at a time, at rates of at least 200 kilowatts (kW). The stations together will be supported by 5.1 megawatts (MW) of solar and 8 megawatt-hours (MWh) of battery energy storage to maximize sustainability and resiliency. SkyChargerʼs Critical Paths 2.0 proposal was the highest ranked among applicants proposing electric charging infrastructure, winning 1/3 of the $30 million awarded under the program.
“We are grateful to the California Energy Commission and the State of California for their unwavering support for transportation electrification, including heavy-duty trucks,” said Andy Karetsky, president of SkyCharger. “Electric trucks mean cleaner air, less noise, lower operating costs, and abundant benefits for workers and communities wherever trucks travel and charge. The future is still electric.”
Supporting new truck fleets with reliable and high-speed charging infrastructure will enable acceleration of electric vehicle adoption. The Kettleman City and Lebec sites experience significant daily truck traffic, with over 14,000 trucks (including over 11,000 heavy-duty trucks) per day passing the Kettleman City site and over 23,000 trucks (including over 17,700 heavy-duty trucks) passing the Lebec site. These are some of the highest truck traffic volumes along the I-5 corridor, making them ideal for delivering maximum benefit to the trucking industry.
SkyChargerʼs Critical Paths 2.0 award builds on its selection by the Port of San Diego (POSD) to construct a 70-port electric truck charging hub (eHub) on Port property, which will be paired with a 1.75 MW solar array, 5 MWh battery energy storage system, convenience store, and a robust community benefits program. The CEC awarded SkyCharger a $10 million “Innovative Charging Solutions” grant in August, 2024 to support the POSD eHub. SkyChargerʼs POSD project includes a pioneering “Trucking as a Service” offering to help independent owner-operators and small fleets make an affordable transition to cleaner vehicles with a clear path to ownership. SkyChargerʼs electric truck charging hubs in Kettleman City and Lebec will enable electric Port-serving trucks to top off batteries while making deliveries north of the LA Area.
SkyCharger will construct the new electric truck stops in partnership with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and Burns & McDonnell, an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) firm. The Kettleman City and Lebec locations are in disadvantaged and low-income communities 104 miles apart, which will each benefit from the project, including job opportunities and cleaner air. SkyChargerʼs project is expected to reduce emissions by more than a million metric tons of carbon dioxide over project lifetime and eliminate all tailpipe emissions of diesel vehicles replaced by electric trucks, including ozone and particulate matter (PM 2.5) pollution.
Published June 2025
