Some AEC Firms are Plugging into EV Charging Market
Date Posted: November 20, 2023
Posted In: Discussion, Environment/Sustainability, Ideas,
From Building Design + Construction: Despite the recent decisions by leading automakers, in response to demand shifts, to temporarily slow their production of electric vehicles, the federal government remains committed to the electrification of transportation, and some AEC firms have been exploring avenues to capitalize on this market sector’s expansion.
Through the first half of 2023, sales of electric vehicles in the U.S. rose by 49 percent compared to the same period a year earlier. But that increase compared unfavorably to the 63% gain in calendar year 2022. Carmakers like Ford, General Motors, and Tesla have announced they were curtailing or delaying production of certain EV models during this period of what one sector analyst referred to as “growing pains.”
This market’s perceived uncertainty hasn’t tempered the Biden Administration’s support of electric vehicles as part of its larger strategy to reduce carbon emissions. The White House foresees a national network of 500,000 EV chargers nationwide, in anticipation that electric vehicle sales will rise to at least half of all new car purchases by 2030. Year-to-date EV sales through September reached just over 873,000 and were on track this month to surpass 1 million units for a year for the first time ever.
Full service charging stations, in design and construction
The engineering firm Kimley-Horn recently launched TREDLite EV, a software solution for retail chains and local governments to select the best locations for their new EV chargers. Kimley-Horn also partnered with Drive Electric Tennessee, an awareness and implementation program that in September released its “Multifamily Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Guide,” for developers and occupants who wish to install chargers.
Driver SPG, a division of the general contractor C.W. Driver Companies, is building what will be the first full-service electric vehicle charging station for Rove Charging, which plans to open 20 locations by 2026. The first station, on 1.2 acres in Santa Ana, Calif., is slated to open next summer. Designed by Peruzzi Architects, the station will be able to recharge 40 vehicles simultaneously via high-powered fast chargers. The station will include an on-site market operated by Gelson’s Markets, restrooms, and free Wi-Fi for customers who use the station’s lounge and outdoor patio. Some Rove stations will offer a car wash.