Planning EV Charging Stations for Regional Demand

EV charging simplified Everyone talks about megawatts and mandates. Few talk about what actually works. Here’s the U.S. playbook that does. 1️⃣ Start with siting, not hardware. Use NREL’s EVI-Pro Lite or EVI-X along with the AFDC Station Locator to map real demand, dwell time, and grid impact. The best sites are workplaces, retail areas, fleet depots, and freight corridors, not empty parking lots waiting for traffic that never comes. 2️⃣ Build to open standards. Use OCPP 2.0.1 for charger control, OCPI 2.2.1 for roaming, and ISO 15118 for Plug & Charge. These keep you vendor-agnostic, prevent app chaos, and meet NEVI interoperability rules. 3️⃣ Cover every connector. NEVI still mandates CCS per port, but SAE J3400 (NACS) is gaining momentum. Dual-cable configurations future-proof sites as automakers switch to J3400 through 2025 and 2026. 4️⃣ Meet the reliability and payment bar. Each NEVI site must have at least four DC fast ports delivering 150 kW simultaneously with 97 percent uptime. Pricing must be displayed in $/kWh with tap-to-pay, SMS, or toll-free fallback and no memberships required. Publish live status and report via EV-CHART. If you cannot hit 97 percent, do not cut the ribbon. 5️⃣ Design for everyone. Follow the U.S. Access Board guidance now. Include clear routes, proper reach ranges, signage, and cable management. The proposed ADA/ABA rule will make these mandatory soon. 6️⃣ De-risk grid connections early. Start utility pre-applications before design. Expect transformer lead times of 12 to 30 months. Where capacity is limited, use staged power, on-site battery storage, and managed charging to control peaks. 7️⃣ Operate like a service, not a project. Write service-level agreements for uptime and repair time. Stock spares. Enable remote resets and secure firmware updates. Provide 24 / 7 multilingual driver support. NEVI funding assumes long-term operations, not quick builds. 8️⃣ Make smart charging the default. Vehicles are parked most of the day. Managed charging and storage reduce bills and help the grid. U.S. pilots such as Con Edison SmartCharge and BGE EV Smart Charge prove real savings and load shifting are achievable. Four-step rollout • Plan: Run EVI-Pro Lite, shortlist sites, and complete utility screening. • Procure: Require CCS and J3400, OCPP 2.0.1, ISO 15118, OCPI roaming, and clear uptime clauses. • Build: Follow NEC 625, design for accessibility, lighting, security, and transparent pricing signage. • Run: Show live pricing and status, maintain 97 percent uptime, report via EV-CHART, and iterate with driver feedback. Right siting, open standards, and clear SLAs mean fewer dead chargers, faster installs, and happier drivers. #EVCharging #EVInfrastructure #NEVI #OCPP #ISO15118 #SAEJ3400 #Accessibility #SmartCharging #EnergyStorage #Utilities #FleetElectrification #OpenStandards #GridIntegration #Sustainability

Organising tenders for public EV charging infrastructure is a key tool for public authorities - national, regional and local - to shape the EV charging network needed to enable their citizens to switch to electric private or shared cars and vans. As part of the European Commission's Sustainable Transport Forum sub-group on best practices by public authorities to support the deployment of charging infrastructure, we've produced this new updated guide. Getting EV charging right - both in terms of planned locations and the ability of users to charge flexibly - is a key objective for public authorities, especially as grids increasingly appear to be a bottleneck in the wider energy transition. Concession agreements can be used as a tool to channel and direct (future) charging demand to areas with sufficient capacity or where grid upgrades are feasible or planned. Passing on dynamic energy prices and the benefits of DSO-led local flexibility programmes to end users will not only reduce their bills, but also deliver wider societal benefits - a key reason to get it right. (For more on this topic, also see Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP)'s short public authorities smart charging guide by Dr. Julia Hildermeier and me: https://lnkd.in/gEtUd_XX) Using concessions as a tool, public authorities can ensure that public EV charging takes place in locations: ⚡ where grid capacity is available 👐 expanding access and improve accessibility ☀️ can be co-hosted with renewable energy generation 🚃 align with multimodal transit, parking vision As EVs mature, public charging network deployment may progress through stages: one after another: 📍 Strategic 🕸️ Coverage-based 📈 Usage-based Ensuring that chargers facilitate the ability of users to integrate their electric vehicles into the energy system (AFIR, Article 15.3) is another aspect that public authorities can address in a tender. Similarly, these tender requirements should include requirements for energy efficiency, modularity and upgradeability to extend the technical life of the charging infrastructure. Public authorities can also speed up the roll-out of public charging and reduce costs for all parties involved by coordinating with their local DSO at all stages. By forecasting and properly modelling (flexible) EV charging demand, the necessary (anticipatory) investments can be made as needed. Pre-approval and pre-application for grid connections before / during a tendering process can significantly speed up the actual deployment by selected charging point operators. One-step approaches, where the grounding and other civil works for the grid connection by the DSO, the installation of the charging point by the operator and the right parking / signage by the public authority are all combined in one go, are a proven way to save time and the scarce resource of skilled labour needed in the energy transition.

When we first started this company, I underestimated how complex EV charging site selection really is. At a glance, it seems simple: pick a high-traffic area, install some chargers, and let demand take care of the rest. But the data told a very different story. Here’s what became obvious pretty quickly: - You need over 50,000 vehicles per day on highways just to break even - Charging speed has to match how long people stay: fast charging works at grocery stores, but not at office parks - And strong traffic alone isn’t enough: high demand charges can wipe out profits What changed things for us, and for the operators we work with, was taking a systematic approach. The best-performing networks don’t rely on gut feel. They use layered scorecards that weigh: Traffic volume and direction -> EV adoption now and in the future -> Access to places where drivers actually want to spend time -> Existing electrical capacity (and the cost of upgrades) -> How close the nearest charger is The grid piece is the one most people miss. We’ve seen perfect-looking sites fall apart because the utility couldn’t deliver enough power without major infrastructure upgrades. On the flip side, locations with existing high-voltage service, like big-box retail centers, often fly under the radar but end up being gold. And coverage planning matters just as much. You're not just chasing demand, you’re filling in the map. That’s why NEVI focuses on spacing, not just density. Put a station too close to an existing one, and you risk underperformance. We’ve learned that site selection isn’t about intuition. It’s about turning a messy set of variables into clear, repeatable decisions. If you’re making long-term bets on charging infrastructure, what data do you rely on most?

Where you live impacts how you charge, especially in the geographically diverse United States, Mexico, and Canada. One thing we don't talk about enough in North American charging is how varied the regions are, and what that means for EV adoption and charging an electrified model. Here are a few distinct challenges that become clear when you consider the thousands of miles and distinct geography of our continent: Congestion in Cities - Dense metro areas bring multi-unit dwellings, on-street parking, and often scarce overnight charging options. This pushes more demand towards urban DC charging, as well as daytime level 2 at workplaces, parking lots, and other destination charging sites. (The lack of options in my hometown of San Francisco was part of why I joined AMPECO in the first place.) Rural & Remote - Larger distances between towns and limited power for DC charging at some travel locations. Site and hardware selection are key factors, as utilization could be limited or sporadic, while battery storage could also be required to offset costly demand charges. Trucks are the common work vehicle in these regions, meaning larger battery packs that see the greatest benefit from high power chargers. EV Adoption Levels - Penetration levels of electric vehicles vary greatly by state and province. One-quarter of new vehicle sales in California are now ZEV models, while Wyoming struggles to sell more than one thousand EVs in a year. Utilization becomes a challenge in these areas. Are there local incentives in place to offset CapEx costs and give you more room for ROI? Can you find a site on a travel route that will see greater use from visiting EV drivers? Routing visibility and demand generation become key in locations like this.  Lifestyle & Use Case - The needs of EV drivers vary depending on how they’re using the vehicle, which is often dependent on the region. An electric truck driver towing a trailer from Moose Jaw to Maple Creek in Saskatchewan needs shelter and pull-through charging stalls, whereas an apartment-dwelling commuter in Toronto is happier with level 2 in a lot close to their office. As we think about how to drive increased electrification of transportation, we need to address the various challenges faced by EV drivers across the continent, depending on where they live. For example, nobody thinks of Europe as one size fits all... We know that Norway is out in front, much like California and British Columbia here. Other countries are further behind, requiring more thought and time to make electric vehicles work. We must be more sensitive to the challenges faced by these different regions and tailor infrastructure deployment strategies accordingly. With that in mind, how do you approach bringing EV charging to your region? How is your network growth strategy customized to fit your unique area? #ChargingChallenges #EVsales #EVadoption

#Publicationalert: Public Charging Infrastructure Pocket Guidelines 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲: 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗩 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹 𝗡𝗮𝗱𝘂’𝘀 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 When we began working with the six EV-ready cities of #TamilNadu — #Chennai, #Coimbatore, #Madurai, #Trichy, #Salem, and #Tirunelveli — one challenge became clear: stakeholders knew charging infrastructure was critical, but many were unsure of the exact steps. Questions came up like: - Where do we begin? - Which land parcels should we prioritise? - How do we forecast demand across vehicle types? - What approvals are required, and from whom? To address this, alongside the comprehensive Tamil Nadu Public Charging Infrastructure Guidelines, the #Tamilnadu released the Pocket Guidelines — a concise, 30-page reference in English and Tamil. Formally adopted by the Department Of Industries Commerce Government Of Tamil Nadu and Guidance Tamil Nadu, the guidelines will now guide coordinated action across #TNGECL, #TNPDCL, Urban Local Bodies, and other departments. We at ITDP - India will continue supporting this effort to ensure that EV charging infrastructure is developed in line with these standards — making adoption easier, faster, and safer across Tamil Nadu. What does it do? It translates complex regulations into clear “what, why, how” actions for cities, utilities, and operators: 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 → tools to estimate how many chargers each city needs, by vehicle segment. 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 → step-by-step process for selecting optimal locations, integrating land use, traffic, and power access. 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 & 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 → collated technical and safety rules in one place for easy compliance. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 → cost components, business models, and revenue options for charge point operators. By simplifying the technicalities, the Pocket Guidelines help government agencies, ULBs, and charge point operators align quickly — cutting delays, reducing uncertainty, and accelerating on-ground rollout. For Tamil Nadu, where #EVmanufacturing is already strong, this is about ensuring #EVadoption keeps pace — and giving cities the confidence to act.   Gratitude: To the TN Guidance team: Darez A. | Alarmel mangai | Prabakaran Andi Saravanan | Renold Regan G | Shanmugapriya Murugananth I Vishnu Venugopalan I To the ITDP - India team: Sivasubramaniam Jayaraman I Sooraj E M I Bezylal Praysingh I Pavithiran R I Kashmira Dubash I Varsha Jeyapandi I Donita Jose I Aangi Shah #EVCharging #ElectricMobility #TamilNadu #CleanTransport #NetZero

It's a true privilege to work with talented researchers at National Renewable Energy Laboratory on the EVI-X suite of modeling tools! Massive public and private investments are being made to support the buildout of #ElectricVehicle (#EV) #ChargingInfrastructure in the United States, but efficient planning and deployment require sophisticated analysis to ensure convenient, reliable, affordable, and equitable charging for all Americans. Leveraging decades of EV charging infrastructure expertise, we developed the EVI-X Modeling Suite of EV Charging Infrastructure Analysis Tools, the most sophisticated and comprehensive set of integrated charging infrastructure analysis tools available today. The tools in the EVI-X suite fall into three crosscutting categories: - Network planning tools to quantify EV charging infrastructure needs such as the number, type, and location of charging ports to support different levels of EV adoption; recommended power levels; the potential grid impacts of increasing EV adoption, plus strategies to lessen stress on the grid; accessible and affordable charging; optimized charging for fleets and ride-hailing services; long-distance travel along highway corridors; and finding utility partners for infrastructure installation - Site design tools to inform EV charging station designs related to energy estimation and site optimization; composition and size of EV fleets; placement of charging station equipment; sizing and control of behind-the-meter energy storage; and the feasibility of dynamic roadway charging - Financial analysis tools to assess costs associated with EV charging infrastructure such as station and network economics, the levelized cost of charging, and investor payback period and risk analyses. Check out the great video to hear directly from Eric Wood, Brennan Borlaug, Andrew Meintz, and Lauren Spath Luhring and use the free data and resources from the EVI-X suite!