Skycharger solar + electric semi truck project gets green light in San Diego

The Port of San Diego has effectively green-lit the new Skycharger flagship solar + electric semi project on a 4.8 acre site near the National City Marine Terminal, promising to fleet electrification easier, more affordable, and more accessible to the area’s port and logistics fleets.

The Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners has certified the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and has authorized issuance of a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) for the Tidelands Avenue Electric Truck Hub proposed by Skychargers, LLC (Skycharger), effectively giving the project a green light to push forward.

As proposed, the new Skycharger facility would feature 70 charging ports of varying output levels to support both the opportunity and overnight charging needs of local trucking fleets, with power coming from both SDG&E and an on-site, 1,719-kW solar array backed by a 1.9 MW/7.8 MWh battery energy storage system (“BESS”) designed to keep kWh costs low while simultaneously ensuring maximum operational resilience.

Skycharger’s sky chargers

“Projects like this reflect our continued commitment to cleaner air and a healthier San Diego Bay for everyone,” explains Ann Moore, Chairperson at the Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners. “By advancing zero-emissions infrastructure and supporting the transition to cleaner technologies, we are improving air quality on and around the bay while creating opportunities for more people to safely access and enjoy our waterfront.”

Skycharger is also developing a Trucking as a Service (TaaS) program, similar to what we’ve seen from companies like Zeem further down state. The way Skycharger describes it, their TaaS business model would helps operators deploy ZETs without large, upfront capital investments or long-term capital commitments through a 90-day “try before you buy” ultra short-term lease program and a five-year path to ownership – financial tools that will help fleet managers, and everyone else living and working around these ports, to breathe a bit easier.

“This project is an investment in the public health of our community and in the future we want to build together,” said Commissioner GilAnthony Ungab, M.D., Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners. “I am proud of and deeply appreciative of the community members who have been engaged throughout this process. Their input has been critical to helping shape a project that gives us an opportunity to move toward a cleaner, healthier future while supporting the economic activity, jobs, and industries that are so important to our region.”

The Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners has authorized staff to sign a non-binding Term Sheet with Skycharger as lease negotiations continue in support of the Port of San Diego’s Maritime Clean Air Strategy (MCAS), a program that is already significantly reducing diesel pollution from maritime and industrial operations in and around the Port by electrifying a number of heavy equipment assets critical to its logistics and freight-handling business.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Skycharger.