Electrify America announced today plans to open up two new states in its nationwide electric car charging network. The states are South Dakota and Wyoming, and look to fill in gaps in their existing network. The map issued along with the press release, which you can see above, shows an intended future EV charging network with excellent nationwide coverage.
In other words, the map is clearly meant for us to believe Electrify America and Electrify Canada together seek to build a charging network which is competitive with Tesla’s Supercharger network.
Its current network has EV charging stations in Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota. But it has zero locations in Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and South Dakota. Plot that out on a map, and you see two important east-west corridors for which Electrify America has no coverage.
This is what the gap looks like in PlugShare. The expansion is (for now) in two locations:
- South Dakota: Wall Conoco Gas Station – 311 South Blvd., Wall (two 150kW stations and two 350kW stations)
- Wyoming: Smith’s Food and Drug – 906 Camel Drive, Gillette (two 150kW stations and two 350kW stations)
The arrows mark the approximate locations of the two cities.
Since these two locations are not proximate to other stations in their network, Electrify America clearly intends to build further stations, probably along the I-90 corridor. In Wyoming it would make sense to continue building stations along I-80 from Nebraska, through Wyoming, then connect those two branches with a station in or near Casper Wyoming.
The Tesla Supercharger network is, of course, already well entrenched across these corridors.
It is important that there be fast charging support for electric cars made by other manufacturers. For the automobile industry to remain open to multiple companies requires there to be charging infrastructure that at least equals what Tesla is offering. So far, however, Tesla has a huge advantage in depth and breadth of coverage.
In an announcement in July 2021
, Electrify America announced a plan to double the size of its networks in the USA and Canada. The goal is by the end of 2025, for the two companies to have more than 1,800 charging station locations, with over 10,000 charging stations.
But, think about that goal, and ask: How many charging stations per location does that imply? It’s about 10 stations per location. How many stations does Tesla typically build per charging station location? While it is laudable that Electrify America/Canada is aiming to go big on charging network infrastructure, are they catching up to Tesla or falling behind?
Fortunately, Electrify America/Canada is not the only player. Between ChargePoint and some other charging networks, there is already coverage across the Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, and North Dakota corridors.
Electrify America Announces Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Two New U.S. States
Groundbreaking in South Dakota and Wyoming expands Electrify America network to 46 states
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Reston, VA (October 27, 2021) – Electrify America, the nation’s largest open ultra-fast DC charging network for electric vehicles (EV), today announced the construction groundbreaking of charging stations in two new states: South Dakota and Wyoming. These new charging locations build on Electrify America’s more than 670 charging stations in the U.S. and represent the company’s continued rapid expansion, bringing its presence to 46 states and the District of Columbia.
“More people are choosing electric vehicles for their daily transportation needs. At the same time, we are accelerating plans to more than double our current EV charging network by the end of 2025,” said Anthony Lambkin, Senior Director, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Operations, Electrify America. “The new stations in South Dakota and Wyoming represent our commitment to build a robust national network of charging stations where EV drivers can go anywhere with confidence.”
Electrify America uses data, analytics and customer insights to plan the most effective charging station locations possible, and these new charging stations are no exception. Each site will be conveniently located near retail or dining amenities to ensure that customers can easily incorporate EV charging into their daily lives.
Once the charging stations are complete, EV drivers with capable vehicles will enjoy charging speeds up to 150kW or 350kW – the fastest charging speeds available today – depending on the location. The new sites will be located at:
- South Dakota: Wall Conoco Gas Station – 311 South Blvd., Wall (two 150kW stations and two 350kW stations)
- Wyoming: Smith’s Food and Drug – 906 Camel Drive, Gillette (two 150kW stations and two 350kW stations)
Building on this momentum, Electrify America plans to add additional chargers in South Dakota and Wyoming over the next year and a half.
The new stations are part of Electrify America’s overall expansion plans through 2025, during which the company expects to complete more than 1,800 charging stations with over 10,000 individual chargers in the United States and Canada.
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