Three Key Takeaways: Measures of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Across the Southeast

Download the Report

Like the rest of the United States, electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming a more common sight on the roads of the Southeast. Both the public and private sectors are investing heavily in the charging infrastructure necessary to meet the growing demand for EVs.

A new report, featuring interactive data visualizations, published by Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability analyzes growth patterns of EV charging infrastructure in a dozen Southeastern states during 2023. The report focuses on the number of ports for two types of charging stations—direct current fast charging (DCFC) stations used for quick charging on long-distance trips and Level 2 stations for gradual charging when a vehicle is parked longer.

The report is co-authored by Nicholas Sommer, a dual graduate student with Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Fuqua School of Business, and Trey Gowdy, a research analyst at the Nicholas Institute. Here are three key takeaways from the paper:

• Public access to EV charging ports in the Southeast is expanding rapidly. The total number of fast charging ports across the region grew to more than 7,400 in 2023, a 41 percent increase over the previous year. Kentucky (87 percent), Tennessee (80 percent), Louisiana (72 percent) and South Carolina (72 percent) saw the biggest changes in DCFC ports last year.
  
  While Level 2 ports increased last year at a slower rate (26 percent), they are three times more common in the region than DCFC ports, with more than 23,000 total. Louisiana (43 percent), Arkansas (39 percent), North Carolina (38 percent) and Mississippi (35 percent) grew Level 2 charging ports the most last year.
   

• The number of EV charging ports per capita in the Southeast lags the rest of the United States. The regional average of 4.8 DCFC ports per 100,000 residents is less than half the national average of 11.3. Virginia was the only Southeastern state to top that figure.
  
  A similar gap exists for Level 2 ports, with a regional average of 14.8 per 100,000 residents compared to the national average of 40.3. No Southeastern state exceeded the national average.
   
• There are wide disparities per capita between charging ports across states in the Southeast. For Level 2 ports, the highest-ranked state, Virginia (37.1 ports per 100,000 residents), has more than three and a half times the number of charging ports per capita as Mississippi (10.1 ports) and Louisiana (10.3 ports). For fast charging, Virginia (12.7 ports per 100,000 residents) again tops the region with more than three times as many DCFC ports as Arkansas (3.9 ports) and Mississippi (3.9 ports).
  
  Although the per capita charging port range spread in the region has widened for both types, the percentage gaps between the top and bottom states have narrowed for each from five years ago.

Sommer and Gowdy suggest that future analyses of EV infrastructure growth in the Southeast could incorporate considerations beyond population. Factors to explore could include the volume of long-distance travel and the number of registered EVs in a location, as well as implementation of state or federal and private infrastructure efforts.

###

CITATION: Sommer, N., and T. M. Gowdy. 2024. Measures of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Across the Southeast: Recent Growth and State Trends. NI R 24-02. Durham, NC: Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Duke University. https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/publications/measures-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure-across-southeast.