As Texas vies to become a leader in electric vehicle (EV) compatibility, lawmakers are passing new legislation to facilitate EV adoption by lowering its cost and making the technology readily available across the state.
At the end of Texas’ 88th legislative session, lawmakers passed Senate Bills 1001 and 1002 aimed at boosting EV ownership, reducing costs, and fast-tracking infrastructure development like EV charging stations across the state.
SB 1001 requires EV charging stations to display the cost to charge and creates guidelines for how they will be registered and inspected by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, while SB 1002 facilitates competitive pricing between EV charging stations associated with public utilities and those privately owned.
Although SB 1001 and 1002 are significant steps toward widespread EV adoption, Texas still has a long way to go before it can crown itself No.1.
The Lone Star State currently ranks No.36 in the U.S. for number of alternative fueling stations, according to data from software company CoPilot. Vermont and California lead the nation by this metric. In addition, Texas only has approximately 18.7 charging stations per 100,000 residents versus the more than 50 charging stations per 100,000 residents seen in the top 10 states.
There are two primary reasons for the slow adoption of EVs, according to Tom Smith, executive director of the Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance.
“No. 1 is cost, and that’s changing rapidly,” said Smith, per The Dallas Morning News. “No. 2 is charging access or range anxiety” — the fear that an electric vehicle will not have enough battery charge to reach either its destination or a charging station, leaving its occupants stranded.
More than 202,000 EVs are registered with the Texas Department of Transportation, and the state has 2,900 public charging stations spanning 773 miles driving east to west.
“If we’re going to see an electric vehicle adoption on a large scale beyond the novelty and luxury level that it presently occupies, we are going to need serious build-out of that infrastructure here,” said Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas), per the DMN.
However, limited charging stations may become less of a problem as the technology progresses and some traditional gas stations adopt the technology.
In 2022, the Texas Department of Transportation released a comprehensive plan that calls for constructing EV charging stations every 50 to 70 miles, though no contracts have been awarded at this time.
As traditional gas-powered manufacturers like Ford Motor Co. make the transition, availability will naturally increase, and destination charge stations will become “irrelevant,” Neal Farris, vice president of the North Texas Electric Vehicle Auto Association, told the DMN.
However, he noted that’s a long way down the road.
