Advancing Rural Electrification through Community-Based EV Charging Stations: Opportunities and Challenges

The investments in electric vehicle (EV) charging station infrastructure has primarily followed EV adoption, which has been more significant in high-income urban areas and densely populated regions. However, increasing EV adoption in rural regions, home to 20% of the US population and nearly 70% of road miles in the United States, has clear benefits for their populations. Community-based charging stations (CBCSs) have the potential to accelerate rural electrification with increased sustainability and energy equity. CBCSs can make the benefits of both EVs and distributed generation, including reduced energy costs, increased power grid resilience, and equitable infrastructure development, more accessible to underserved communities. This paper presents a vision for the integration of CBCSs in rural regions and discusses technical impacts on the power grid and the economic impacts for rural communities, describing potential challenges, needs, and opportunities for future research and development.