3 tips for bringing EV charging to rural communities

Rural America may seem like a long, rutted road on the national drive toward vehicle electrification. The distances are great, the populations sparse, the electricity service often tenuous. But it’s just as easy to argue the opposite.

Rural populations drive more, so they stand to save more on fuel which is roughly two-thirds cheaper, mile-for-mile, when it comes in the form of electrons as opposed to hydrocarbons. They’re more likely to live in homes with a place to plug in than an apartment-dwelling urbanite. And the $7.5 billion that’s now flowing from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to EV charging stations takes the idea of creating a national EV charging network seriously enough to mandate that, every 50 miles of what will be tens of thousands of miles of “EV Charging Corridors,” there must be at least four direct-current (DC) fast chargers capable of juicing a vehicle to about 80% capacity in 15 to 45 minutes.

The federal government may be taking the lead, and state governments will play decisive roles in this mass rollout. But rural communities can and should have a big say in how the national EV charging network takes shape. Building rural EV charging infrastructure that benefits local residents and those passing through depends on communities taking initiative indirectly (by influencing the policies now taking shape at higher levels of government), and directly, by making sure local EV charging infrastructure is built out strategically, installed efficiently, and maintained assiduously.

Speak up
Creating a national EV charging network entails what’s probably the most ambitious government-driven transportation infrastructure deployment since the creation of the federal highway system. This is a top-down mandate, and its scope, cost, and its stakes (geopolitical, economic, and otherwise) lend themselves to holistic planning. But there is flexibility built into that planning, and rural leaders should waste no time in helping shape their corner of the EV charging universe.

State governments are already chiming in, as public comments regarding the EV charging infrastructure rollout – technically, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula (NEVI Formula) – make clear. A couple of examples: North Carolina officials suggest some rural areas can go without four DC charging stations so they can spend that money on additional charging stations later. Those in Nevada point out that putting DC fast chargers on remote, uninhabited stretches of highway would be cost prohibitive and require an “engineering feat” given some of the terrain involved. The Western Governors Association similarly argues for flexibility given the vast distances, limited grid infrastructure, and “patchwork of federal, state, and private lands ownership boundaries.”

What’s clear in these and other comments is that, while NEVI money is already being spent, how it all will end up being spent is far from a done deal. Rural governments can steer the ultimate outcomes to the benefit of their constituents if they speak up soon. There’s actually a playbook as far as how to go about doing that, released by the Electrification Coalition in December 2022 (this publication summarized it well).

Locals lead
Ultimately what will matter to rural residents and visitors is that they can charge their vehicles when they need to. NEVI is mainly about ensuring that enough DC fast chargers exist around the country for drivers to go long distances without undue range anxiety. Federal and state officials are in a better position to improve the grid, negotiate reduced demand charges with utilities, map out where charging infrastructure (and supporting electrical infrastructure) should be located across vast geographies, and provide incentives for vendors who may need financial nudging to invest in places with uncertain payback horizons.

But local rural leaders are poised to understand and project actual charging needs and use patterns, and that information can inform how states implement NEVI and other EV charging buildouts. Local input can involve common-sense solutions such as focusing on level 2 chargers (those take about the same amount of power as a clothes dryer) when they suffice and suggesting the installation of capacitors or battery packs to enable fast charging in low-demand areas rather than ponying up for pricey utility upgrades in distant locales.

Local leaders will also play a role in the implementation, operations, and maintenance of local EV charging networks. They’ll need to use digital solutions with tools to develop plans for supporting the sorts of traffic and mix of EVs (long-haul trucks, delivery vehicles, personal cars and so on) across much larger service territories – and, generally, with much less power at hand – than in urban and suburban environments. Given the inherently higher cost of deploying rural EV chargers, local governments and/or their contractors will be well served by harnessing the efficiencies of deployment operations management solutions – cloud-based software designed to plan and manage dozens, hundreds, or thousands of job sites, assets, and field crews in real-time.

Tech tools are vital
These solutions help accelerate the planning and deployment process with  visualization tools that help plan for sites where the individual units of a portfolio of EV charging stations would be best placed; tools to manage site candidates, approvals, and drawings and then match deployment assets with job sites to ensure that equipment is where it needs to be, when it needs to be there; tools to automate complex back-office processes such as managing capital funding budgets and drawing approvals needed to get projects to closeout faster; and tools to bring contractors into the fold, enabling collaboration on project schedules, job information and images, and site maps and history. All of this means faster deployments at a lower cost.

These systems also recognize that the work doesn’t stop with the deployment, but rather extends into post-installation operations and maintenance going forward. EV chargers are complex systems that can malfunction, and rural leaders need to plan on dealing with it to ensure maximum charger up-time.

Rural America faces challenges in enabling the electrification of the U.S. vehicle fleet – just as urban and suburban America do. By planning based on projected local needs, engaging with regional and state governments, and harnessing the right technologies, rural leaders can ensure their constituents reap the benefits of going electric and contribute to a cleaner and safer energy future.