Toyota Launches Clean Assist 100 Percent Renewable Charging For Some Californians

Toyota sells some of the more popular plug-in hybrid electric vehicles available in California. The automaker has announced a new Clean Assist program that allows carbon-free charging from Toyota plug-in owners in California. Under the program, eligible Prius Prime and RAV4 Prime owners in California can charge their vehicles with 100 percent of the charging energy matched with renewable electricity at no additional cost to consumers.

Clean Assist allows eligible owners to offset vehicle charging with 100 percent renewable energy no matter where the vehicles are plugged in. Clean Assist requires owners of eligible vehicles to opt into the program using the Toyota App. The app tracks the amount of electricity they use during charging.

Toyota then generates or buys an equivalent amount of California-sourced Renewable Energy Certificates. The maker points out that Renewable Energy Certificates is a program recognized by the EPA that records the generation and usage of green energy. Toyota sends evidence of the matching amounts to the California Air Resources Board to ensure all Toyota plug-in hybrid electric vehicle activity is matched with zero-carbon electricity.

The program means that owners can charge their vehicles at home, at the office, or on the road with energy matched with 100 percent renewable power. The app makes tracking how much power is used easy, and owners can see the amount of CO2 they've avoided using the Clean Assist program.

Owners who decide to opt-out of the program can do so for any reason through the app. Toyota notes that it is voluntarily choosing to participate in the Low Carbon Fuel Standard program operated in California. That program aims to reduce transportation greenhouse gas emissions by using renewable electricity to charge electric vehicles.