SkyCharger awarded $10 million grant for two electric truck stops in Southern California

Located in two high-volume, low-income locations, the two charging stops aim to provide maximum impact for electric trucks and jobs for marginalized communities.

April 29, 2025 Rachel Metea

Image: SkyCharger

The California Energy Commission awarded electric vehicle charger developer SkyCharger a $10 million grant to design, construct and operate two publicly accessible electric truck stops along I-5 in Southern California.

SkyCharger said the grant will help fund the deployment of 32 high-capacity fast-charging stations in Kettleman City, Calif. and Lebec, Calif. The stations will be capable of charging 64 heavy-duty trucks at a time at a minimum rate of 200 kW, according to SkyCharger.

The stations will be supported by 5.1 MW of solar and 8 MWh of battery storage, SkyCharger said.

According to SkyCharger, its proposal won one third of the $30 million awarded under the California Energy Commission’s Critical Paths 2.0 program.

“Electric trucks mean cleaner air, less noise, lower operating costs, and abundant benefits for workers and communities wherever trucks travel and charge,” said Andy Karetsky, president of SkyCharger. “The future is still electric.”

The Kettleman City site in Kings County and Lebec site in Kern County have some of the highest truck traffic volumes along the I-5 corridor, according to SkyCharger. The Kettleman City site has more than 14,000 trucks per day passing through it, SkyCharger said, and over 23,000 trucks pass through the Lebec site each day.

SkyCharger is partnering with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and engineering, procurement and construction firm Burns & McDonnell for the project’s construction.

The Kettleman City and Lebec locations are in disadvantaged and low-income communities 104 miles apart, which will each benefit from the project, including job opportunities and cleaner air, SkyCharger said. The company said it plans to prioritize local hiring in Kern County and Kings County, as well as neighboring counties. SkyCharger said it expects the project’s construction to create over 90 well-paying jobs under project labor agreements with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. SkyCharger said these labor agreements will establish the terms for the wages, working conditions and dispute resolution mechanism to ensure fair labor practices, and allow workers the freedom to join unions and benefit from collective bargaining.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers will recruit graduates from pre-apprenticeship programs, Helmets to Hardhats, the Veteran Electrical Entry Program, and high school and community college students into its apprenticeship programs, which will supply workers to construct SkyCharger’s electric truck charging hubs.

According to SkyCharger, the project is expected to reduce emissions by more than a million metric tons of carbon dioxide over the project’s lifetime, and eliminate all tailpipe emissions of diesel vehicles replaced by electric trucks, including ozone and particulate matter (PM 2.5) pollution.

SkyCharger is also creating a community fund, which will disperse $100,000 per year to fund scholarship programs and other community benefit programs. The annual contribution includes a 1.5% escalation, meaning the community fund will provide $2.24 million over the project’s 20-year lifetime.

SkyCharger is a Tennessee-based wholly-owned subsidiary of Skyview Ventures, a venture capital firm with a mission to support innovative companies in the renewable energy space.

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