The California Energy Commission (CEC) on Dec. 14 approved a $2.9 billion investment plan to accelerate progress toward the state's 2025 electric vehicle charging and hydrogen refueling goals.

　　The investment will allow California to add 90,000 new electric vehicle charging posts, more than double the 80,000 already installed previously. combined with funding from utilities and other programs, the investments are expected to ensure the state meets its 2025 goal of deploying 250,000 charging posts in the state, the CEC added.

　　California will allocate $1.7 billion to support medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles, and CEC Chief Transportation Commissioner Patty Monahan said in a statement, "This opportunity will help individuals, businesses and public agencies better charge or add hydrogen fuel to their vehicles, while supporting an emerging manufacturing ecosystem and creating jobs. "

　　In September, the U.S. Department of Transportation approved plans for electric vehicle charging stations in all 50 states, Washington and Puerto Rico, covering about 75,000 miles (about 120,700 kilometers) of highway.

　　The U.S. $1 trillion infrastructure bill will provide $5 billion to help states install electric vehicle charging posts along interstate highways over five years. States now have access to more than $1.5 billion to help build electric vehicle charging posts. The White House announced earlier this year that it had approved 35 of the 50 state plans.

　　California enacted new regulations in August that require all new vehicles sold in the state to be either purely electric or plug-in hybrids by 2035.