NFI deploys 50 electric semi trucks and a 38-port charging depot in SoCal
A new 38 port electric truck charging depot and maintenance hub is coming online to service Southern California’s ports and logistics centers, along with 50 new electric trucks from Volvo and Daimler.
Today’s charger opening is part of California’s Joint Electric Truck Scaling Initiative (JETSI), a cooperation between various levels of California government to increase electric truck deployment, particularly in vulnerable communities. This is the second stage of the JETSI project, with the first stage being a 32-port charger opened by Schneider last June.
It’s the first of its kind – that we know of anyway – that functions solely as an electric truck charging hub and maintenance facility. No diesel trucks on this property.
This project is being done with NFI, another supply chain and logistics company which operates across much of North America, in cooperation with Electrify America and Southern California Edison. Today’s 38-port charger project is located in Ontario, near Los Angeles and home to many warehouses and logistics operations to service the nearby ports.
The twin ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles – situated immediately next to each other in Long Beach, California – each accept more containerized traffic than any other port in America. Between the two, roughly 40% of America’s containerized goods come through these ports.
These goods then move on drayage trucks between the ports and California’s Inland Empire, the valley just east of Los Angeles.
As a result, the area is heavily polluted, with logistics traffic being a major contributor. The LA metro area has some of the most-polluted air in the US.
And so, deploying electric trucks here is a huge priority for California government. In California’s new Advanced Clean Fleets rule, these drayage trucks were targeted first – in fact, as of January 1st of this year, you can no longer deploy a new diesel drayage truck in the state. So today’s deployment is no longer all that exceptional in terms of powertrain, but the size and government cooperation make it exceptional.
The California Air Resources Board and California Energy Commission put $27 million in funding into the JETSI project, with additional funds coming from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee, Port of Long Beach, and Southern California Edison. The project is part of California Climate Investments, a program that puts billions of dollars from California’s cap-and-trade funds into service in reducing emissions.
The chargers will be capable of speeds up to 350kW, with about 7MW of combined capacity across the 38 ports. The trucks will include Freightliner’s eCascadia and Volvo’s VNR Electric.
NFI’s charger will also include solar and battery storage, with 1MW of solar and 8MWh of battery storage on-site, though both of these won’t be installed until later this year.
In all, the JETSI project stands to displace 5.5 million gallon-equivalents of diesel fuel over its lifetime, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8,200 tons per year and criteria pollutant emissions by 5 tons per year.
Electrek’s Take
Just like the last time we visited one of these big truck charging hubs, the drive out to the event was quite striking. As we got closer to the site, the freeway got more and more packed with diesel trucks, taking over the road one lane at a time.
And sure enough, driving behind all those diesel trucks is a stinky endeavor. The soot coming from the tailpipes of diesel trucks makes a mess of everything – including, especially, the lungs of nearby communities.
So getting to the charger itself and seeing a nice, new, clean parking lot – and one that will stay that way because there’s not going to be a lot of soot-making, oil-dripping pollution machines hanging around all day – was pretty great.
But, as we always mention, it’s going to take a lot more depots like this to electrify everything. This is just one project, and the entire Inland Empire is full of truck depots like this.
So this may be a first of its kind, but it’s going to need to be the first of many in order to finally clean up the air around these parts.
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Electricity demand is surging in Texas, and solar, wind, and battery storage are meeting it.
According to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), electricity demand across the Texas grid managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) hit record highs in the first nine months of 2025. ERCOT, which supplies power to about 90% of the state, saw demand jump 5% year-over-year to 372 terawatt hours (TWh) – a 23% increase since 2021. No other major US grid has grown faster over the past year.
Solar and wind keep ERCOT’s grid steady
The biggest growth story in Texas power generation is solar. Utility-scale solar plants produced 45 TWh from January through September, up 50% from 2024 and nearly four times what they generated in 2021 (11 TWh). Wind power also continued to climb, producing 87 TWh through September – a 4% increase from last year and 36% more than in 2021.
Together, wind and solar supplied 36% of ERCOT’s total electricity over those nine months. Solar, in particular, has transformed Texas’s daytime energy mix. From June to September, ERCOT solar farms generated an average of 24 gigawatts (GW) between noon and 1 pm – double the midday output from 2023. That growth has pushed down natural gas use at midday from 50% of the mix in 2023 to 37% this year.
Battery storage is filling in the gaps
Batteries charge during the day when wind and solar generation are the highest, and they produce electricity when generation from wind and solar slows down. ERCOT began reporting battery output separately in October 2024 in its hourly grid data, and it’s clear that batteries are now helping to smooth out evening peaks. This past summer, batteries supplied an average of 4 GW of power around 8 pm, right as solar production dropped off.
Natural gas is flatlining
Natural gas is still Texas’s dominant power source, but it isn’t growing like it used to. Between January and September, gas-fired plants generated 158 TWh of electricity, compared to 161 TWh in 2023. Gas comprised 43% of ERCOT’s generation mix during the first nine months of 2025, down from 47% in the first nine months of 2023 and 2024.
More demand growth ahead
The EIA expects Texas electricity demand to keep rising faster than any other grid in the US. In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA projects ERCOT’s demand will climb another 14% in the first nine months of 2026, reaching 425 TWh. That means Texas will need even more solar, wind, and battery storage to keep up with its breakneck growth.
Read more: This $900 million solar farm in Texas is going 100% to data centers
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GM is recalling nearly 23,000 Chevy Equinox EV and Cadillac Optiq models due to a defect where the tire tread could fall off.
GM is recalling more Chevy Equinox EV models
In a letter sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), GM said it has decided to issue a safety recall for certain Chevy Equinox EV and Cadillac Optiq models from model years 2025 to 2026.
This time, it isn’t necessarily GM’s fault. The vehicles may be equipped with 21″ all-season tires that Continental Tire is recalling.
According to Continental, the tires were produced during the week of October 6, 2024, and may have a defect where the tire tread could partially or fully detach. The records show the defect is due to a nonconforming tread base rubber compound.
Owners of affected vehicles may notice unusual tread wear or bulging, vibration while driving, or tire noises. GM is unaware of any incidents related to the defect, but is issuing the recall out of an abundance of caution.
On September 18, 2025, GM inspected the assembly plant and confirmed there were no suspect tires in stock. The 21″ tires come standard on RS trims and are optional on LT1 and LT2 grades.
Although GM is recalling 22,914 Chevy Equinox EVs and Cadillac Optiqs, it estimates that only about 1% of them have the defect.
The recall includes:
- 2026 Cadillac Optiq: 214
- 2026 Chevy Equinox EV: 1,832
- 2025 Cadillac Optiq: 3,468
- 2025 Chevy Equinox EV: 17,400
GM dealers will check all four tires and replace them if needed, free of charge. Dealers were notified on October 16. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed out on December 1, 2025.
You can contact Chevrolet’s customer service number at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac’s at 1-800-333-4223. GM’s recall number is N252525030. Owners can also call the NHTSA hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or visit the nhtsa.gov website for more information.
The Chevy Equinox EV is now the third best-selling EV in the US, trailing only the Tesla Model Y and Model 3. Meanwhile, Cadillac’s entry-level Optiq SUV is the fifth-most-popular luxury EV. The recall is minor and only affects a small percentage of models, so it’s not expected to have a major impact.
If you want to test one of them for yourself, we can help you get started. Check out our links below to find available Chevy Equinox EV and Cadillac Optiq models near you.
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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 Tesla’s earnings madness, Rivian layoffs, Ford pausing F-150 Lightning, and more.
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