During the Feb. 9 Irving City Council meeting, the Mayor and city council approved an electric vehicle (EV) charging needs assessment, aided by EV charging and media company Volta's infrastructure planning service.
The assessment will provide data-driven insight to build an optimal charging infrastructure strategy based on current and future EV driver needs, including within disadvantaged communities. The City Council’s Transportation and Natural Resources Committee will use this data to develop a comprehensive infrastructure plan. Once completed, the plan can help Irving apply for future federal and state grants, including the Discretionary Grant Program for Charging and Fueling Infrastructure, which allocates $1.25B to community charging under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). In addition, this work can help align the city with the federal government's Justice40 goal, which seeks to ensure that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities.
“As electric vehicles become more popular in North Texas, it’s prudent that Irving develops a comprehensive and efficient infrastructure roadmap to support them,” said Mayor Rick Stopfer. “The assessment will provide data and analysis that can be included in our infrastructure strategy for the entire city so we can address the needs of electric vehicle drivers in Irving.”
City leaders and Volta will build the infrastructure plan by analyzing disparate data sources, such as local mobility, demographic, commercial and site-specific data, to provide detailed options to key EV infrastructure challenges, including expected EV adoption, optimal charger quantity and locations, the right mix of charging infrastructure and anticipated energy requirements from the grid. One of the plan's goals is to help identify optimal charger locations and charging speeds in disadvantaged communities.