The project by Greenlane Infrastructure, which broke ground in September, will develop dozens of new charging ports in Colton, near the intersection of interstates 10 and 215. The area is central to the logistics industry, given its connection to ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, and to the complex warehousing ecosystem built across the Inland Empire.
Think of these “travel centers” as next-gen truck-stops, a company official said, with clean restrooms, lounge seating, Internet connections, vending machines and snacks.
“Some select locations will have truck washing, wellness centers, package pickup lockers and more,” Patrick Macdonald-King, Greenlane CEO, said via email. “The facilities will ensure drivers can rest, recharge, and manage their personal needs effectively.”
The endeavor “not only marks a significant step in improving air quality in our community and the region, but ... brings vital infrastructure to an important industry,” Colton Mayor Frank J. Navarro said in a statement. “This project speaks to Colton’s role in furthering clean energy production and exemplifies the positive outcomes of a strong city and stakeholder collaboration.”
At full buildout, Greenlane will include 60 chargers to serve heavy, medium and light-duty vehicles. The company, a joint venture among Daimler Truck North America, NextEra Energy Resources, and BlackRock, is planning other projects along Interstate 15 in Barstow and Baker, an official said.
“When it comes to our strategy, completing corridors, and eventually rolling out a national network of connected charging stations, not only addresses the urgent need for publicly available charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles, but creates a new model for the future of EV charging and, eventually, hydrogen refueling,” Macdonald-King said.
The plaza was funded in part by a $15 million grant from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), which aims to increase publicly accessible charging along the heavily traveled corridor.
“This project will help encourage fleets and small independent operators to make the transition to battery electric trucks by providing the much-needed supporting charging infrastructure,” said Kim White, senior public affairs specialist at SCAQMD.
“This location is also strategically located nearby interstates 215 and 10, which are major corridors for goods movement from Southern California to surrounding areas and other states, and we expect this early installation location to connect with a larger charging network in the near future,” she said via email.
With the enactment of the Advanced Clean Fleets rule by the California Air Resources Board, the state has been on a march to phase out fossil fuel-burning trucks, starting this year. Drayage trucks operating along corridors with heavy truck traffic, in areas like Colton, will need to be zero-emission by 2035.
Other efforts to build out heavy-duty charging infrastructure are also underway farther north in the Bay Area, where EV Realty is developing a charging site in Livermore with 58 chargers, located 34 miles from the Port of Oakland.
“For medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, there needs to be a significant amount of investment in these sort of depots,” Suncheth Bhat, chief commercial officer for EV Realty, said during a June 27 panel on charging infrastructure. “These are big trucks, with big batteries. So obviously, lots of power is needed for these trucks, which means lots more investment is needed.” The event was hosted by Veloz, an EV advocacy and policy group in Sacramento.
Projects like these are costly, White said, underscoring the need for public incentives.
“Without incentive funding, the currently challenging business model for heavy-duty charging sites is difficult to get installed and provide charging in a cost-effective manner,” she said. “As more of the infrastructure projects for heavy-duty vehicles are developed, we expect the costs of equipment and the critical need for this infrastructure to decrease, thus reducing the need for incentives.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with additional comments from Greenlane Infrastructure and a rendering of the facility.
