On March 3, CSUDH began construction on 203 new EV parking spaces in parking lot three. When the project is complete in Mid-May, Dominguez Hills will have the most EV charging stations in the CSU system and more than double any other campus.
Prior to construction, the campus had only 10 EV parking spaces. Six stations in the northwest corner of lot 3, two stations in the southwest corner of lot two, one station in the physical plant parking lot and one station in the housing P3 parking lot.
Sustainability Director Ellie Perry remarked on what it means for CSUDH to be leading the way on this initiative. “Our biggest source of emissions, actually, as a university, is commuting,” he said. “If we’re actually trying to fight global warming [and] follow through in our climate neutrality agreements, we have to support cleaner transportation options.”
Construction was more than three years in the making. The university initially applied for funding for 75 EV charging stations in August 2022. Perry said there were multiple reasons for the delay.
“When you have two big entities like Southern California Edison Utility Company and the California State University system, there’s a lot of back and forth,” Perry explained.
An 18-month supply chain delay also contributed to the wait. The delays also allowed CSUDH to expand its application from the initial 75 to 203 without any added paperwork.
In 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order calling for all vehicles sold in the state to be electric by 2035. This mandate, combined with Californians leading the nation in purchasing electric cars according to Cal Matters, should mean the parking spaces will be put to good use for years to come by faculty, staff, and students commuting to campus.
These new EV parking spaces were funded through Southern California Edison’s Charge Program and external money from other rebate projects. Southern California Edison’s Charge Ready Program is available to assist business and property owners with deploying the infrastructure and equipment necessary to support electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at their locations. This program helps by providing financial incentives, infrastructure, and technical support to facilitate the installation and maintenance of EV charging stations. Building this infrastructure without this program would have cost upwards of half a million dollars but now comes at no added expense.
“In terms of the impact on the campus bottom line, there is none,” Perry said.
These new EV spaces not only provide an environmental bonus. Once this infrastructure is in place, it can open up opportunities to support events such as the World Cup or the Olympics, which will take place in and around Los Angeles in 2028.. “We’re going to be an Olympic venue,” Perry told the Bulletin. “In terms of the infrastructure component, I think that’s pretty huge, too, for being future-ready.”
EV charging will be available for a flat hourly rate of 35 cents per kilowatt-hour. Cars may be left charging for up to three hours.. Lot three is in good proximity to a large enough feed to supply electricity and is not scheduled for any other developments, making it an ideal location for the 203 new spaces.
Construction was over three years in the making. The university initially applied for funding for 75 EV charging stations back in August 2022.. Perry said there were multiple reasons for the delay. “When you have two big entities like Southern California Edison Utility Company, and the California State University system, there’s a lot of back and forth,”
An 18-month supply chain delay also contributed to the wait. The delays did allow CSUDH to expand its application from the initial 75 up to 203 without any added paperwork. EV parking spaces are set to be operational by mid-May.