EV charging stations: why we need more and how to deploy them

You probably have noticed more EV charging stations in parking lots and on the side of the road. We are seeing a major overhaul in the transportation sector. The US is the world’s second-largest producer of greenhouse gases with transportation creating the largest share of emissions. Some states, like California, are leading the electrification charge to combat our emission output.

California leads the way, investing in EV infrastructure

In 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown signed an executive order which set the goal of five million electric vehicles on the state’s roads by 2030. With policies like these and advancements in technology, electric vehicles are becoming more popular. As of 2018, over one million electric vehicles have been sold in the US with the most popular being the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S. In response, most prominent automakers have begun revealing their electric vehicle (EV) strategies. For example, Ford announced that it will invest $11 billion into EV development by 2022 and General Motors plans to launch at least 20 EV models by 2023.

This $2.5 billion California initiative will also help to bring 250,000 much-needed EV charging stations online. Industry leaders and policymakers are now left with the challenge of ensuring that adequate EV charging stations are in place to meet the expected demand, support a competitive marketplace, maintain energy affordability, and preserve the reliability of the electric grid.

Simply put, the demand for EV charging stations is at an all-time high and infrastructure owners and operators will not be able to expand quickly enough or maintain existing stations without proper project management software.

The challenge ahead for EV infrastructure builders

EV infrastructure companies, in some cases, are going to need to double or triple their network footprint in the immediate future to meet demand. The challenge ahead includes adding new stations in existing locations, expanding into new markets, and maintaining current stations.

Using email, spreadsheets, and scattered notes to track these projects is not an adequate process and will lead to reduced revenue, increased maintenance downtime, and more inefficiencies. Most importantly, you are much less likely to meet aggressive growth targets for deploying new, exciting technology — EV charging stations — if you’re stuck using antiquated tools like spreadsheets to track your projects.

Speed to revenue is affected when you are using inadequate tools for project management.  EV charging stations can run ads for revenue or charge users per kilowatt-hour (kWh). When a station is down for maintenance companies lose money. If you cannot expand fast enough the competition is going to take advantage of the opportunities you’re missing. To avoid this catastrophe and meet your aggressive targets, you need an organized system for managing projects.

Be the changemaker EV charging needs. Use industry-leading project management software.

Sitetracker can help improve processes, reporting, forecasting, and speed to revenue. Sitetracker will improve internal communication and allow you to operate in a single source of truth. By streamlining deployment processes with Sitetracker, your EV infrastructure company can position themselves as industry leaders, helping to differentiate you when bidding for new contracts. Schedule your live demo of the platform today.