California’s long-delayed $2,000 e-bike rebates are finally here
California has been attempting for years to roll out an incentive program for electric bicycles, with the project continuously delayed due to funding and mismanagement issues. Now we’ve finally received word that the long-awaited program is set to begin before the end of the year.
Electric bicycle rebates and vouchers have proven to be a powerful tool to help people replace cars or simply establish transportation independence. There are many states as well as countless cities in the US that have established their own voucher programs, usually to overwhelming success.
The idea goes that more people would avoid car usage (and all of the many downsides that come with it), if they could afford a more efficient alternative like an electric bike. For many others who currently lack any form of transportation, an e-bike can be a lifeline for mobility.
Now Californians across the Golden State could finally get that opportunity as well, or at least a chance for that opportunity. The California Air Resources Board has announced that its e-bike incentive program will kick off on December 18 – just two weeks from now.
There will be multiple windows of incentives in the program, with the first drawing upon US $3 million in funding, or enough to cover around 1,500 e-bike vouchers. The program will be limited to income-eligible residents of the state, with a sliding scale based on 3x the federal poverty line and the number of household residents. For a single person, that’s an income of around US $45,000 per year. For a family of four, it’s a household income of around $93,000 per year. Priority applicants are considered those with household incomes under 2.25x the federal poverty line.
CARB has said that applications will open at 6 PM on December 18th, and as Streetsblog pointed out, it could be a matter of minutes before all of the available vouchers are snatched up. We’ve seen the same thing happen in other cities, such as Denver where each round of new vouchers can be exhausted in around one minute.
The base voucher is set at US $1,750, with an additional $250 provided to priority applicants at under 2.25x the federal poverty line, with the maximum voucher being $2,000. The voucher can be used to purchase an eligible electric bike, as well as accessories such as a helmet, bike lock, racks, baskets, fenders, lights, mirrors, and protective clothing.
Bike elgibility is slightly restrictive, requiring more than just that the e-bike fits into the three-class e-bike system used by California as well as most US states. To be eligible for purchase using the CARB program’s incentive, the bikes must also have a lighting system that runs off of the e-bike’s main battery, be tested for compliance with safety certification ANSI/CAN/UL-2849 or EN-15194, offer at least a 1-year warranty, and be delivered fully-assembled.
While the requirement for being delivered fully-assembled would seem to rule out almost all direct-to-consumer e-bikes ordered online, like those from major retailers like Rad Power Bikes, Aventon, Velotric, and others, all of those bikes as well as similar models appear on a list of eligible e-bike models. Thus, it appears CARB is somewhat flexible about what it means to be delivered fully-assembled, and allows for bikes that arrive with the rider needing to install components like wheels, handlebars, pedals, seats, racks, and fenders.
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Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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As “extreme” weather events become more commonplace, the demand for reliable and portable energy continues to rise. In response to that growing demand for dependable off-grid power, Volvo has developed the new PU500 Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) designed to take electrical power when it’s needed most.
Designed to be deployable in a number of environments at a moment’s notice, the Volvo Energy PU500 BESS is equipped with approximately 500 kWh of usable battery capacity (up to 540 kWh total). More than enough juice, in other words, to power a remote construction site, disaster response effort, or even a music festival – anything that needs access to reliable electricity beyond a grid connection.
That’s great, but what sets the PU500 apart from other battery storage solutions is its integrated 240 kW DC fast charger.
“With an integrated CCS2 charger, the PU500 is designed to work with all brands of electric equipment, trucks, and passenger cars,” says Niklas Thulin, Head of BESS Product Offer at Volvo Energy. “This ensures that no matter what type of electric vehicle or machinery you rely on, the PU500 can provide the power you need, making it a truly flexible solution for any grid constrained site or location.”
The integrated charger in the PU500 has the impressive ability to charge a heavy equipment asset (be that an electric semi truck or something like a wheel loader) in under two hours. Its on-board capacity allows to fully recharge up to 3 electric HD trucks or 20 electric cars per day, making it an incredibly versatile disaster response asset.
Electrek’s Take
As we often say over at The Heavy Equipment Podcast, “just because you’re working for the power company doesn’t mean you have power,” and there are hundreds of scenarios where the extra power provided by something like the new PU500 would be useful. Its ability to be palletized and easily moved or swapped out of a larger BESS array, too, just add to its flexibility.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo.
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