Gary Zhou 
In a new plan from the Texas Department of Transportation, the state is setting aside $408 million for electric vehicle charging infrastructure over the next five years.
Since Tesla moved its headquarters to Texas late last year, the state has made strides in EV adoption. Many towns are investing in Tesla Model 3s as police cars, Austin and other major cities have invited investment from the Boring Company to ease congestion and reduce emissions.
As noted in a recent Texas Department of Transportation plan released on June 12, the state will be building charging infrastructure every 50 miles along many major interstate routes. As of the date of this report’s publishing, there are 129,010 electric vehicles in Texas, and that number is rapidly growing.
The report begins by pointing out that “since 2020, the total number of electric vehicles across Texas has nearly tripled…” and goes on to argue that “with rapidly growing adoption rates, it is necessary to ensure Texas will be able to meet the demand…” The plan outlines some key parts of the infrastructure being installed; many of the stations will include energy storage and/or solar power generation to ease demand on the grid, the chargers will charge at a rate of 150 kW with multiple bays at each station, and the goal will be to have installed roughly 500,000 chargers by 2030.
“The density, distribution, and power of the EV network outlined in this plan is targeted to support 1 million electric vehicles when built out,” the report states. “DC Fast charging stations will be 50 miles apart on the Electric Alternative Fuel Corridors and usually 70 miles apart anywhere else in the state. Drivers will have multiple options for EV Charging along their intended travel route. Each location will have at least four units with pull-through spaces for passenger vehicles pulling trailers or recreational vehicles. When drivers arrive at a location with four or more units, it is likely a stall will be available even.”
Governor Greg Abbott commented on the new plan saying, “Texas’ sheer volume of roadway miles leaves ample opportunity for EV charging development…”, but specifically highlighted the need for rural charging; “I direct TxDOT and shareholders to include in the plan a way for Texans to easily get from Beaumont to El Paso and Texline to Brownsville in an EV – with a focus on rural placement and connectivity.” This investment follows shortly after Giga Texas went live with its near-constant hiring and promises of huge production numbers. It may be that state officials want to be ready for the coming wave of Tesla products and employees to the state.
The full Texas Department of Transportation EV Charging Plan is available below.
