The California Air Resources Board, or CARB, has relocated its headquarters to Southern California, settling on a 19-acre piece of land on Iowa Avenue. The land was previously owned by the University of California, Riverside (UCR).

“Much credit goes to our past Chairwoman Mary Nichols who was looking for land that came with possibilities,”

John Swanton, Air pollution specialist | CARB

CARB’s New Head Office is Near UCR and The Riverside Innovation District

It was in 2016 that CARB chose this location which is close to UCR and The Riverside Innovation District, providing the board with land to grow its operations and have testing facilities in the coming decades.

CARB was formed in 1967 to tackle the issue of smog in California, however, the scope of its operations has expanded since then.

The new headquarter facility of CARB is built on a 19-acre tract of land with a net-zero energy laboratory. The facility complies with LEED Platinum and CalGreen Tier 2 green energy standards.

“It’s a privilege to have one of the world’s largest and most advanced testing and research facilities in our backyard, driving collaboration between UCR, CARB, and the startups who want to be near the forefront of climate leadership and innovation,” said, Councilmember Cervantes. “We’re grateful for the hundreds of high-tech, high-paying green jobs CARB will bring to the region and look forward to supporting the board’s continued success.”

Role of CARB in Environmental Regulations

CARB has played an ever bigger role in regulating environment related problems in the state. it recently approved Community Emissions Reduction Program for San Diego Portside Community. The board approved a similar plan for the Southeast Los Angeles area as well.

However, another role it plays in imposing fines on businesses in the state. It recently fined Phillips 66 Company $200,000 for violating California’s gasoline regulation.

Another White River Marine Group had to pay $203,500 for violating CARB regulations whereas Southern California Edison paid $350,000 settlement for violating rules on super pollutant.

One of the Coca Cola bottling companies, called Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling LLC reached a settlement with CARB amounting $137,000 for air quality violations.

On the flip side, CARB also administers incentive programs for companies planning to switch their fleets to green-energy sources.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and CALSTART announce the reopening of the popular Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) at 10 a.m. to new voucher requests. The 2021 reopening will make available $165 million to California-based businesses that want to transform their fleets with new, zero-emission and near-zero-emission clean vehicles.

Source: CARB

Rideshare Companies in California Begin Electrification of their Fleets

It was in May this year that CARB passed a regulation requiring ridesharing companies in California to start electrification of their fleets starting 2023. The impetus behind this decision was to achieve the ambitious goal of hitting net-zero emissions by 2030.

Electric Car Companies in the Inland Empire

At Startempire Wire, we previously reported that the region is home to 40K Electric Vehicles (EVs). With the CARB regulation coming in force, the number might increase above 60K in the next 2 years.

There are companies in the Inland Empire working to fast track the transition towards EVs. Karma Automotive opened its innovation and customization center in the Moreno Valley the aim of which is to make customized EVs for other companies, as well as Karma’s own brands of EVs.

Author: Sharjeel

Sharjeel joined Startempire Wire as emerging technologies editor. Earlier, he worked at Silicon Canals, a leading English language technology media source for the Benelux and wider Europe. He covered the European technology and startup ecosystem digging into latest funding rounds of startups.