A Roadmap to Reduce Emissions by Electrifying the I-5 Corridor

Electric utilities in three West Coast states joined together to commission the West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative, a study focused on introducing electric vehicle charging infrastructure to drastically reduce emissions. Led by HDR, the study provides recommendations for electric charging infrastructure to support medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks along the 2,090-kilometer I-5 corridor.

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Technical experts from HDR’s power and transportation teams combined their expertise to develop a phased and achievable set of recommendations for the study. By 2025, the study proposes installing 27 electric charging sites for medium-duty electric vehicles at approximately 80-kilometer intervals along I-5. Once the charging stations are in place, a second phase would expand 14 of the 27 charging sites to accommodate charging for electric heavy-duty regional haul tractors by 2030, when it is estimated that 8% of all trucks on the road in California could be electric.

To arrive at the recommendations, the study included:

• Zero-emission MD/HD truck market assessment
• Zero-emission MD/HD truck forecasts
• Stakeholder surveys
• Current trucking market landscape analysis
• Current utility infrastructure evaluation 
• Current and forecasted truck volumes along the corridor
• Identification of locations for future electric truck charging facilities

The West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative identifies and recommends which technology-application solutions to prioritise based on research analyses, and provides recommendations to each electric service partner on where to locate charging infrastructure in their territories to accelerate the adoption of MD/HD electric trucks.

Other initiative sponsors of the study are Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, Northern California Power Agency, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Pacific Power, Portland General Electric, Puget Sound Energy, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, San Diego Gas & Electric, Seattle City Light and Southern California Public Power Authority.

HDR completed the study in partnership with CALSTART, S Curve Strategies and Ross Strategic.