The Next Challenge for the US Charging Network: Congestion

Source: Kyle Stock | · BLOOMBERG · | August 20, 2024

As the US adds public chargers, Burning Man and other off-the-beaten-path events are now accessible by EV. But what happens when crowds pile in?

In Fernley, Nevada, east of Reno, there are 16 cords that rapidly charge electric vehicles — not bad for a city of just 24,000 people.

This weekend, that ratio will be upended. Roughly 30,000 vehicles are expected to roll through town en route to the Black Rock Desert 113 miles (182 kilometers) to the north, best known as the site of the annual art and music festival Burning Man. If even 1% of those cars are EVs whose drivers attempt to charge at the same time in Fernley, the stations will be staring down significant wait times.

Luckily for Burners — if not the planet — the risk of charger congestion is low. The Burning Man Project, the nonprofit that oversees the event’s ticketing and much of its build, says fewer than 1% of attendees get there via battery-powered car. But as EV adoption picks up in the US, events like Burning Man represent the next big challenge for the US charging network: having enough chargers to handle bursts of localized travel, such as Thanksgiving week in New England or July in Yellowstone National Park.

“Once you hit 40% utilization, for sure anyone coming to your place is going to have a hard time finding a charger,” says Rick Wilmer, chief executive officer of ChargePoint Holdings Inc., which operates about 3,000 fast-charging stations across the US.