A new study from National Grid, Electric Highways, illuminates a blueprint for the buildout of fast-charging sites along highway corridors as demand rises from the surge in electric passenger vehicles and commercial trucks. National Grid, along with transportation analytics organizations CALSTART, RMI, Geotab and Stable Auto, wanted to understand the effects of electrification and the future of EV highway charging on the grid.

The study shows that in the next decade, electric vehicle charging along Massachusetts and New York highways will require interconnection to high-capacity transmission lines.

They looked at 71 gas stops – large passenger/truck stops, mixed use plazas, and passenger plazas – and calculated how much power would be needed to enable the shift to electric vehicles. Director of Clean Energy Development at National Grid Colette Lamontagne noted that “’the amount of load that was going to be required was significantly more than we thought and it’s going to be needed sooner than we thought’”. Especially as more electric trucks hit the roads, which require chargers that deliver even more electricity in a short amount of time.

The results of this study will help guide decision making around electric grid interconnections and infrastructure, particularly useful for utilities and policymakers.

The study points out that by 2030, “the electrification of a highway gas station serving mostly passenger vehicles will require as much peak power as a professional sports stadium”. And with the addition of electric trucks, by 2035, a truck stop’s power needs will be equivalent to that of a small town.

For a smooth transition towards electrification, all parties need to be in tune and aware of how each piece of the greater clean energy puzzle fit together. States like Massachusetts and New York are taking rapid and proactive steps towards increased EV adoption and as this rate quickens, ensuring available power to support highway fast charging efforts is vital. The Electric Highways Study demonstrates that delivering this amount of power will be achieved by plugging into high-voltage transmission lines. Transmission interconnections can take four to eight years to complete, which means that for state regulators and utilities, the time to get started is right now.