With California's pledge to reinvigorate its economy through "green collar" jobs, one has to wonder where electric cars fit in?  California Assemblywoman Fiona Ma was recently quoted as saying, "Electric vehicles are the next generation of fuel for California’s green economy".  And she is absolutely right!  

Two years ago, various cities within the San Francisco Bay Area joined forces with private companies to create an infrastructure friendly to electric vehicles.  With the center piece being 250,000 charging stations across the Bay Area by the end of 2014.  This has resulted in thousands of new jobs and increased consumer confidence in electric car purchasing.  Which in turn has lead to more jobs for companies that service electric vehicles through retail as well as parts and repair.  This past week Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 631, which takes a page out of the Bay Area plan, and hopes to increase electric vehicle charging stations across the entire state.  Assembly Bill 631 does not mandate an increase in charging stations, but it eliminates regulatory hurdles by not regulating electric vehicle charging stations as utilities.  The economic impact of the bill will be felt in coming years as other cities begin to expand their electric vehicle infrastructure.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) projects the number of electric vehicles could grow from 32,756 in 2011 to 1.5 million by 2020 and 2.8 million by 2030.  And with Tesla Motors manufacturing their electric cars in the Bay Area city of Fremont, it can mean thousands of more manufacturing and service jobs for that company alone.  Most notably, there will be a shift from gasoline to domestic renewable energy.  This will only lead to more jobs within the state.  A recent study by the UC Berkeley Global Venture Lab suggests that the US economy will retain an additional $23 billion by 2030 that would otherwise have been spent abroad if 39% of the population adopted electric vehicles.  This clearly shows the potential to keep money from flowing out of the state or country.  Additionally, initial battery and parts production will also be domestic.

There are still hurdles when it comes to cost of ownership, but hopefully that is something that can be addressed with technological gains and economy of scale in production.  The impact is clearly there. The passing of  Assembly Bill 631 is a great first step, but government leaders have to keep up the momentum.   The state of California must do everything it can to nurture and grow the electric vehicle industry by promoting tax credits and removing regulatory road blocks.