Waymo will expand robotaxi operations to LA next
Google’s Waymo driverless ride-hailing service is expanding operations to Los Angeles, California.
Waymo has not yet specified a timeline for when the rides will start – just that Los Angeles will be next in line.
It’s a major announcement, given the size and scope of LA driving, which is more complex than both Phoenix and San Francisco.
Waymo operates a fleet of self-driving electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles – these currently serve the public in Phoenix, Arizona, and are being tested by employees in San Francisco, California. These vehicles have no driver, whether in the vehicle or remotely – they run purely on sensors and can be used by the public in Phoenix with no NDAs or predefined pickups through the Waymo One app. The company is currently looking for “Trusted Testers” in San Francisco: nonemployees who can help test the next phase of their rollout.
Phoenix was Waymo’s first area, which is marked by mostly wide, flat streets in a grid configuration and isn’t nearly as choked by traffic as California’s major cities. Moving to San Francisco upped complexity a lot – the city is quite difficult to drive in, but at least it’s small, which means everything can be mapped out ahead of time so the vehicles have an easier time navigating.
Waymo’s public Phoenix coverage area is about a hundred square miles. The company is also testing in downtown Phoenix, including rides to the Sky Harbor airport. In San Francisco, the coverage area is smaller, as the city itself is only 7-by-7 miles.
Interestingly, the press release quotes the population of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, which has 13 million residents and covers an area far larger than any of their previous service areas by population, area, and complexity.
The LA metro area is commonly considered to run all the way from Thousand Oaks to San Clemente and sometimes includes Riverside as well. But, Waymo also quoted Holly Mitchell, an LA supervisor for District 2, which mostly covers South Central, the West side and beach cities (here’s an LA district map) and is a couple hundred square miles. It notably excludes downtown – a more complex area, which Waymo was also later to address in both SF and Phoenix. So we’d bet that Waymo will mostly cover this area first.
Compared to SF and Phoenix streets, Los Angeles is the worst of both worlds – a huge, sprawling metropolis with lots of distance to cover and often-poor road quality, tons of traffic, and complex roads. It’s easier to drive in than San Francisco (in this writer’s opinion), but it offers more varied terrain and road conditions across a much wider area. Waymo mentions some of these difficulties in their press release:
We’ve also autonomously driven millions of miles on freeways, giving us a head start handling some of Los Angeles’s most challenging roads. Roads that include criss-crossing freeway ramps, narrow surface streets, high numbers of unprotected left turns, blinding sunsets down its east-west roads, and distracted drivers.
Currently, Waymo’s rides are still free to the public in Phoenix, unlike competitor GM Cruise which started charging for some rides in San Francisco earlier this year. Waymo also has permission to start charging for rides in San Francisco but hasn’t done so yet, as it’s not yet open to the public in that area. Waymo says that the potential commercial opportunity in the LA market is as big as a dozen smaller US cities combined, due to its population, size, and car-centric nature.
We’re sure the first rides in LA won’t be charged for as Waymo tests its program. In San Francisco, it has only allowed employee travel since it started operations in March, but that is convenient since the company is headquartered there. There may not be enough LA-based employees to allow for this restriction, so Google might start off with “Trusted Tester” and public rides sooner than they have in SF (or maybe that’s wishful thinking – I’d love to use this service).
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Wind energy powered 20% of all electricity consumed in Europe (19% in the EU) in 2024, and the EU has set a goal to grow this share to 34% by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050.
To stay on track, the EU needs to install 30 GW of new wind farms annually, but it only managed 13 GW in 2024 – 11.4 GW onshore and 1.4 GW offshore. This is what’s holding the EU back from achieving its wind growth goals.
Three big problems holding Europe’s wind power back
Europe’s wind power growth is stalling for three key reasons:
Permitting delays. Many governments haven’t implemented the EU’s new permitting rules, making it harder for projects to move forward.
Grid connection bottlenecks. Over 500 GW(!) of potential wind capacity is stuck in grid connection queues.
Slow electrification. Europe’s economy isn’t electrifying fast enough to drive demand for more renewable energy.
Brussels-based trade association WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson summed it up: “The EU must urgently tackle all three problems. More wind means cheaper power, which means increased competitiveness.”
Permitting: Germany sets the standard
Permitting remains a massive roadblock, despite new EU rules aimed at streamlining the process. In fact, the situation worsened in 2024 in many countries. The bright spot? Germany. By embracing the EU’s permitting rules — with measures like binding deadlines and treating wind energy as a public interest priority — Germany approved a record 15 GW of new onshore wind in 2024. That’s seven times more than five years ago.
If other governments follow Germany’s lead, Europe could unlock the full potential of wind energy and bolster energy security.
Grid connections: a growing crisis
Access to the electricity grid is now the biggest obstacle to deploying wind energy. And it’s not just about long queues — Europe’s grid infrastructure isn’t expanding fast enough to keep up with demand. A glaring example is Germany’s 900-megawatt (MW) Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm. The turbines are ready to go, but the grid connection won’t be in place until 2026.
This issue isn’t isolated. Governments need to accelerate grid expansion if they’re serious about meeting renewable energy targets.
Electrification: falling behind
Wind energy’s growth is also tied to how quickly Europe electrifies its economy. Right now, electricity accounts for just 23% of the EU’s total energy consumption. That needs to jump to 61% by 2050 to align with climate goals. However, electrification efforts in key sectors like transportation, heating, and industry are moving too slowly.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has tasked Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen with crafting an Electrification Action Plan. That can’t come soon enough.
More wind farms awarded, but challenges persist
On a positive note, governments across Europe awarded a record 37 GW of new wind capacity (29 GW in the EU) in 2024. But without faster permitting, better grid connections, and increased electrification, these awards won’t translate into the clean energy-producing wind farms Europe desperately needs.
Investments and corporate interest
Investments in wind energy totaled €31 billion in 2024, financing 19 GW of new capacity. While onshore wind investments remained strong at €24 billion, offshore wind funding saw a dip. Final investment decisions for offshore projects remain challenging due to slow permitting and grid delays.
Corporate consumers continue to show strong interest in wind energy. Half of all electricity contracted under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in 2024 was wind. Dedicated wind PPAs were 4 GW out of a total of 12 GW of renewable PPAs.
Read more: Renewables could meet almost half of global electricity demand by 2030 – IEA
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the official unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y, Mazda 6e, Aptera solar car production-intent, and more.
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The Chinese EV leader is launching a new flagship electric sedan. BYD’s new Han L EV leaked in China on Friday, revealing a potential Tesla Model S Plaid challenger.
What we know about the BYD Han L EV so far
We knew it was coming soon after BYD teased the Han L on social media a few days ago. Now, we are learning more about what to expect.
BYD’s new electric sedan appeared in China’s latest Ministry of Industry and Information Tech (MIIT) filing, a catalog of new vehicles that will soon be sold.
The filing revealed four versions, including two EV and two PHEV models. The Han L EV will be available in single- and dual-motor configurations. With a peak power of 580 kW (777 hp), the single-motor model packs more power than expected.
BYD’s dual-motor Han L gains an additional 230 kW (308 hp) front-mounted motor. As CnEVPost pointed out, the vehicle’s back has a “2.7S” badge, which suggests a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) sprint time of just 2.7 seconds.
To put that into perspective, the Tesla Model S Plaid can accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 2.1 seconds. In China, the Model S Plaid starts at RBM 814,900, or over $110,000. Speaking of Tesla, the EV leader just unveiled its highly anticipated Model Y “Juniper” refresh in China on Thursday. It starts at RMB 263,500 ($36,000).
BYD already sells the Han EV in China, starting at around RMB 200,000. However, the single front motor, with a peak power of 180 kW, is much less potent than the “L” model. The Han EV can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds.
At 5,050 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,970 mm, BYD’s new Han L is roughly the size of the Model Y (4,970 mm long, 1,964 mm wide, 1,445 mm tall, wheelbase of 2,960 mm).
Other than that it will use a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack from BYD’s FinDreams unit, no other battery specs were revealed. Check back soon for the full rundown.
Source: CnEVPost, China MIIT
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