Center Opens to Advance Clean Transportation in San Joaquin Valley
A new transportation center has opened in San Joaquin Valley to help the region attain its air quality targets by accelerating the use of zero emission vehicles and clean fuels.
The San Joaquin Valley Clean Transportation Center is funded through a $1.2 million grant from the California Energy Commission to CALSTART. The center will provide resources, technical assistance and support for the area’s residents, businesses, fleet owners and local governments.
The center is located at the historic Fresno Chandler Executive Airport, dedicated in 1929, in a building constructed as part of the Works Progress Administration. As the historic hub of transportation for the Valley, the center will connect the past with the future of transportation. It is also conveniently located near the juncture of four freeways, down the street from the city’s fleet center with ample parking.
“The San Joaquin Valley Clean Transportation Center is part of a larger strategy to address regional clean-air needs across the state,” said Energy Commissioner Janea A. Scott. “The Energy Commission is pleased to provide a $1.2 million grant to fund this center, which will help local residents, governments and businesses collaborate on advanced transportation solutions and accelerate their progress toward meeting the Valley’s clean-air goals.”
The Energy Commission has funded five regional centers in the state to facilitate the advancement of clean transportation solutions towards attaining its clean-air goals. Other centers have opened or will be opening in Berkeley, Davis (under a federal cost-sharing program), Los Angeles with an office in San Diego, and another location that is still to be determined.
Joseph Oldham, director of the San Joaquin Valley Clean Transportation Center and a Fresno native, said the center will focus primarily on expanding electric charging stations and working with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District on all-electric transit and heavy-duty truck technology using cleaner fuels.
