As EVs boom in North Texas, communities hurry to fill infrastructure gaps

From KERA News:

The entrance to the offices of LG Electronics in Fort Worth was abuzz with employees and visitors on a windy Friday morning in January.

The company known for making typical household electronics like TVs and cell phones is now in the business of building electric vehicle chargers. Business executives, local leaders and reporters were here to see the company’s brand new state-of-the-art EV charger factory.

It’s the first LG factory in the country of its kind.

“What you’re looking at is our first entry of a level three charger, DC ultra-fast charger in the United States and the product will be manufactured in this facility here in Fort Worth, Texas, and it will be available later on this year,” said Mike Kosla, senior vice president of U.S. sales.

Kosla said this factory is the final assembly site for new EV chargers that will be shipped across the country.

It’s an important part of the larger fabric of EV infrastructure that’s currently being woven across North Texas and beyond. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates as many as half of all vehicles sold in the U.S. will be EVs by 2030.

Inside the factory, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker told KERA that this new facility bodes well not just for Fort Worth, but for the region as a whole.

“I really do want Fort Worth to be partnered with companies like LG Electronics that have a firm understanding of what the future looks like,” she said. “And they really push communities to think differently and be more innovative.”

The electric vehicle industry is booming and EVs are quickly growing as a viable alternative to traditional gas-powered cars. That means there’s a growing need for better EV infrastructure across the region.

Almost 95,000 people drive EV’s in North Texas, more than any other part of the state — and Clark says the map of infrastructure in the region is quickly changing.

Up until recently, EV drivers could charge their cars in limited spaces, mostly high-income neighborhoods.

“It’s started to even out just a little bit as more kind of traditional fuel retailers get into the EV charging game, some of your big convenience store chains have started looking at installing EV charging,” Clark said.

Local governments are also responding to residents’ requests for more EV charging stations. In Dallas and Mesquite, drivers can charge their cars for free at select locations until September.

In Dallas, most of the chargers are clustered in the city’s downtown, with more scattered around the north side of the city. There are virtually no chargers in southeast Dallas.

“That’s something that we’re we’re really engaged with our local governments, in particular, our cities and counties on trying to figure out how we can help solve that,” Clark said.

As the state of EV infrastructure continues to grow rapidly, Clark says that growth needs to include equitable access.

That way, everyone in North Texas who has the option of driving an EV can — no matter where they are.

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