Ava Community Energy (Ava), a clean energy provider, plans to deploy 86 public direct-current fast-chargers (DCFC) across 11 sites in six cities under a partnership with Calibrant Energy (a joint venture between Macquarie and Siemens Financial Services).
The partnership was announced after Ava’s 2023 collaboration with EV Realty, which will build 32 additional chargers in downtown Oakland, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to driving access to electric mobility resources and infrastructure across Northern California.
This project supports Ava in increasing the adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) to help accelerate California's goals for decarbonized transportation.
"The partnership between Calibrant Energy and Ava is another step closer to making the energy transition more achievable. As demand grows, this is an exciting time for EVs, and collaborations like this will ensure success," says Matt Walz, CEO at Calibrant Energy.
Through a procurement approach similar to power purchase agreements (PPAs) traditionally used for wind, solar, and battery storage projects, Ava is utilizing an energy-tolling agreement structure to finance its EV charging network by paying a monthly fixed, capacity-based fee to deploy the charging stations across its service territory.
Ava's partners, Calibrant Energy and EV Realty, will help develop up to 11 fast-charging hubs in Ava's DC fast-charging network located across Hayward, Livermore, Oakland, Piedmont, Pleasanton, and San Leandro.
Ava's DC fast-chargers will be powered using its Renewable 100 service, which is certified by the California Air Resource Board (CARB) as a zero carbon intensity transportation fuel and will be available to the public throughout the day.
While the charging partnership with Calibrant Energy will come online in 2025, Ava's EV Realty partnership plans to complete the project by the end of 2024. Ava plans to continue building publicly available fast chargers to give residents access to affordable electric vehicle charging.
Ava will locate all EV fast-charging sites in publicly accessible municipal parking lots, garages, and right-of-way parking spaces near multifamily hotspots - areas with dense concentrations of renters which make up nearly 50% of Ava's customers - to provide reliable and affordable charging infrastructure for underserved communities. Moreover, each charging station will be located near local businesses and services for increased convenience.
