Central CA’s first public heavy-duty electric truck charging depot opens in Fresno

WattEV, an electric vehicle charging company based in Southern California, has opened a heavy-duty truck charging depot in Fresno. This is the first project of its kind in Northern/Central California.

The charging depot is located on Chesnut Ave. off Highway 99, adjacent to the Fresno Truck Center and the parking lot of McCoy’s coffee shop. Representatives from local businesses and organizations gathered on-site on Tuesday to mark the charging depot’s grand opening.

“It takes a village to get a site online, and you know, we’re very used to being pioneers, we’re used to being leaders, so it’s really a great effort to work hand-in-hand with ... different organizations to get a site like this online,” said WattEV CEO Salim Youssefzadeh.

The charging depot features seven MCS megawatt-fast chargers and 15 single-cord 240 kW CCS chargers.

Joshua Simes, PG&E’s Regional Vice President for the Central Valley, said that electric trucks becoming more commonplace on the 99 would reduce emissions and improve air quality. “This is actually helping not only PG&E but California with its clean climate goals,” Simes said.

PG&E also worked with WattEV on a similar electric charging station in Kern County.

The project’s contribution to improved air quality was echoed by Sarah Sharpe, deputy executive director of the Central California Asthma Collaborative. “Exhaust from diesel trucks traveling through the valley is the largest single source of air pollution in our region,” Sharpe said, adding, “This is why we are so excited to see investments in zero-emission transportation.”

WattEV plans to open future similar charging stations in Oakland and Stockton. The company also has plans to expand across state lines into Arizona and Texas.