166 New Electric Vehicle Chargers Installed at Irvine’s Great Park

Electrical vehicle chargers in Irvine, Calif., on July 12, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

On July 11, city leaders in Irvine, California, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the addition of 166 Level 2 electric vehicle chargers at the Great Park—located at lots four, five, and six in the park.

Mayor Farrah N. Khan said the installation takes the city one step closer to reaching its environmental goals, and the chargers are part of a plan to make the Great Park one of the best municipal parks in the world.

“I am excited to continue the expansion of resources and initiatives in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030,” Ms. Khan said in a statement posted on the city’s website announcing the news.

With the new addition, Irvine now boasts 721 electric vehicle chargers. In 2021, Irvine initiated its first-ever Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, setting goals to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and rely on renewable energy when possible.

In June, the city also voted to create a plan to encourage all new homes and commercial buildings to be electric-powered in the city, after an earlier effort to mandate them was stymied when a federal court ruled another city in California could not ban natural gas in new construction.

City staff are expected to return with an ordinance sometime in July that “incentivizes the use of all-electric equipment, or disincentivizes the use of natural gas,” in new home and commercial construction, which would need to be approved by the council.

Irvine residents also began receiving power from the Orange County Power Authority for their electricity in October 2022, although around a third opted to switch back to Southern California Edison.

When the green energy agency began providing power, residents were automatically opted into the agency’s 100 percent renewable plan, the most expensive plan.