Electric vehicles have been selling in significant numbers for several years. Tesla has made a splash in the ultra-luxury market with the Model S, and they took deposits from excited buyers amounting to over $15 billion of backlog for the mass market Model 3 sedan. GM, Nissan and BMW have also been selling all electric cars in reasonable volumes the last couple of years.
The Logistics of Charging Away From Home
I’m enthused about the potential of electric vehicles to reduce the cost of fueling a car, and the ability to do most of the charging in my own garage appeals to me. My only concern is the logistics of refueling an EV on a road trip. I’ve noticed that EV charging stations seem to be more noticeable in public spaces, office buildings and public spaces. This got me wondering if some website might have data on the number and location of EV charging stations in the U.S.
Current EV Charging Network
The U.S. Department of Energy publishes data on the number of alternative filling stations in the country. I downloaded the electric stations and plotted them on a map using Tableau. After correcting some obvious errors (state names and geocoding errors), I was able to create a dashboard listing all 15,575 station sites as of February 2017. The DOE reports that these lists are updated at least annually.
