Engineering360: "How Many EV Charging Stations to Cover the US? NREL Has an Answer"

" whether consumers prefer short or long range pv's "

A. Consumers don't buy Fossil fuel ( gasoline / diesel ) powered based on how short or how long of a trip they will or may use the vehicle for.

Consumers don't buy one car for short trips and one car for long trips.

A typical consumer buys a car based on need, how that vehicle suits their needs.

If a consumer buys a large vehicle, this will typically have a 20 gallon gas tank. At an average of 15 miles per gallon, this equates to approximately a 300 mile range.

If a consumer buys a small vehicle, this will typically have a 10 gallon gas tank. At an average of 30 miles per gallon, this equates to approximately a 300 mile range.

If a person were to subscribe to this methodology, they would need two cars, a 20 k small car & a 40 k large car, it's not likely that the average consumer will spend 60k for two electric cars when they could spend 30k or less for one Fossil fuel car that would accomplish both high and low ranges.

Then there is the " fast charge " this currently equates to 20 minutes for 80% of full capacity. Most gasoline stations have capacity for 12 cars to refuel. Refueling a gasoline car takes approximately 5 minutes and most gasoline stations occupy 1/4 - 1/2 acre of land. In order to refuel 48 cars, then you would need a 2 acre parcel of land, unless this land is in a rural area, where there is a lower population density and less cars, this will be difficult to accomplish in an urban area where twice as many electric refueling stations would be required versus gasoline stations and there is less land available to satisfy the needs of a larger demand.

Then there is infrastructure costs, an average gasoline station fuel tanks have a life of 20 + years and a station costs (x) amount to build. What is unknown is how much an electric station will cost to build and how much it will cost to maintain and what it's lifespan will be.