A collaboration including the city of San Diego (CA), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), GE, UC San Diego and CleanTECH San Diego launched Smart City San Diego to develop and implement local initiatives that will improve the San Diego region’s energy independence, empower consumers, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and drive economic growth.
“With the San Diego region currently preparing for one of the largest initial deployments of electric vehicles in the country, the first priority for Smart City San Diego is to expand current projects to implement a comprehensive electric vehicle infrastructure,” said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders. To prepare the city and address the wide range of challenges, Smart City San Diego has created a plan that includes five key electric vehicle initiatives:
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Utilize smart technology to enable rapid electric vehicle growth while ensuring safe, reliable and efficient power delivery for consumers. UC San Diego, SDG&E and GE will demonstrate smart technologies to identify when and where charging will occur, as well as work with electric vehicle owners to better manage charging loads.
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Streamline home and public charging deployment processes. SDG&E and the City of San Diego will work toward developing an efficient electric vehicle permitting process to ensure easy and rapid deployment of electric vehicle chargers for home and public-access locations.
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Research and demonstrate systems to power electric vehicles through clean, renewable energy sources, such as solar. UC San Diego, GE and SDG&E will test the technical and economic feasibility of achieving zero tailpipe emissions, leveraging UC San Diego’s solar and fuel cell renewable energy generation infrastructure. CleanTECH San Diego will serve as connective tissue between anticipated technology needs in the electric vehicle sector and the San Diego region’s innovators.
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Deliver economic growth for San Diego. CleanTECH San Diego and the City of San Diego will help quantify the economic impacts of the electric vehicle initiatives, including cluster growth, incremental job growth and training needs, to ensure the city continues to prosper and benefit from this new industry.
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Study consumer behavior to better understand their decisions and identify additional electric vehicle initiatives. The collaborators plan to enlist a consumer focus group comprising 50 UC San Diego students, faculty, and staff who will be offered commercial leases on electric vehicles, charging their vehicles through UC San Diego’s planned electric vehicle infrastructure.
UC San Diego is committed to working with our partners to develop and demonstrate innovations that will enable carbon-free transportation. Through our collaboration, and the university’s significant investment in renewable energy generation and storage, smart grid communication infrastructure and the expertise of our faculty and staff, we are poised to help with the successful adoption of electric vehicles in San Diego and eventually mainstream America.
—Marye Anne Fox, chancellor of UC San Diego
In addition to delivering a holistic electric vehicle infrastructure, Smart City San Diego has identified a host of efficiency and renewable energy objectives, including:
- Supporting California goals for localized electricity generation and 33% renewable energy by 2020;
- Empowering consumers with real-time knowledge and intuitive technology to manage their energy usage;
- Minimizing the need for additional infrastructure by optimizing and automating the electric grid with two-way communications and monitoring technologies; and
- Demonstrating the value and impact of innovation to the San Diego region and the community through public smart grid projects and displays.