California’s EV Chargers Outnumber Gas Pumps, Yet Only 10% Offer Fast Charging

Wedoany.com Report-Mar 26, California is one of the largest markets for electric vehicles and that means there’s a lot of demand for charging infrastructure. However, they’re up to the challenge as the California Energy Commission recently announced 178,549 public and shared private chargers have been installed statewide.

That’s an impressive number, especially when you consider there are only an estimated 120,000 gas nozzles in the state. That means there are 48% more EV chargers than gas dispensers.

However, things aren’t that simple as a vast majority of chargers (162,178) are Level 2 units that can take hours to deliver a notable charge. This makes them ideal for home use and the California Energy Commission estimates there are more than 700,000 Level 2 chargers in single-family homes.

The remaining 16,971 or 9.5% are DC fast chargers. While their speed can vary, some fast chargers can deliver over 100 miles (161 km) of range in 15 minutes or less.

California credits their impressive charging infrastructure to “dedicating billions to support clean transportation goals” including approving a $1.4 billion investment plan to create the most extensive charging and hydrogen network in the country. There are also other efforts such as a $55 million project to install fast charging stations at businesses and other publicly accessible locations across the state.

California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild said, “The California EV driver experience is getting better by the day. The state will continue to heavily invest in EV infrastructure, with particular emphasis in hard-to-reach areas, making these vehicles an easy choice for new car buyers.”

That’s good news for residents of the Golden State, where approximately 25% of new car purchases are zero-emission vehicles. Of course, any change to federal incentives could put a damper on sales.