It is no surprise that the rising popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) is taking the world by storm. In 2021, EVs made up nearly 10 percent of total car sales globally. In 2022, that number has grown to 13 percent. This trend is only going to continue this upward trajectory. By 2030, EVs project to represent more than 60 percent of vehicles sold globally. With countries like Germany, the U.K., and France expecting EV sales to reach between 40-50 percent by 2025, the U.S. anticipating EV sales to soar to 20.6 million by the same year, and China projecting 40 percent EV sales by 2030, the rapid shift to electrification is happening now. This mass adoption of EVs depends almost entirely on the availability of charging infrastructure. Some of these challenges are well documented, including the potential of upfront costs to build the infrastructure needed to support EV charging in homes and buildings, as well as tackling grid connection, which can be a huge barrier for both individuals and municipalities looking to invest in EVs.

The need for EV charging solutions is widely acknowledged. McKinsey & Co. has found that millions of charging stations will be needed worldwide to meet this expected demand. For example, in continental Europe, there were 375,000 charging stations in 2021. However, analyst predictions, even conservative ones, indicate that there needs to be at least 3.4 million operational public charging points by 2030. For the U.S., the numbers are similar, with more than 20 times the current number of public chargers needed than it has now to reach the country’s goals. 

Years of waiting

Implementing EV charging options will inevitably face some red tape and bottlenecks. The reality is that permitting and approvals became more challenging over the past 20 years, and while there are initiatives in place to alleviate this red tape, it still takes time for this to be executed. 

Moreover, it can take years to either provide interconnection to existing utility grids or to build out the new electrical services capable of supplying power. Just last year, the U.S. Department of Energy released a new initiative to help cut back on the lengthy process as they found the average project (including solar, energy storage and wind development) can take nearly four years from the time it enters the interconnection queue to being up and running. The EU has announced similar steps to speed up the transition to green energy, shorten permitting times and cut its reliance on fossil fuels through one-year renewable energy permits. 

However, like many government initiatives, change takes time, and for interconnections, this can mean years of delay, if not decades. 

Among other factors making it hard to accommodate a new generation of power, utilities are often slow to add new generating capacity because it could require new transmission lines, which can take decades to get approved and constructed. On top of this, customer sites often suffer dramatically higher bills through demand charges due to the addition of EV chargers, or they max out the number of grid-connected chargers the site’s service capacity can handle but still have a desire for more. Additionally, demand charges can quickly add up for facilities, businesses or individuals looking to add EV chargers to their properties. Because the monthly fee to maintain the electric utility’s infrastructure can fluctuate based on how much energy is used in peak months, EV charging sites that are grid-tied can quickly become expensive to use and maintain. Upgrading infrastructure and meeting regulatory requirements can be a lengthy and expensive process, according to McKinsey & Co. 

However, with more than 50 percent of the global community reported to be interested in purchasing an EV, the world needs to find solutions to overcome these bottlenecks sooner rather than later. 

Skipping the waiting room for grid modernization

Off-grid EV chargers are a great solution to these challenges for several reasons. They can be installed quickly (sometimes as fast as one workday), they are often less expensive and they can be more flexible than grid-tied EV chargers. 

In the face of permitting and interconnection challenges, off-grid charging solutions hold the key to meeting EV growth without the wait. 

  • Reduction in costs: By generating electricity via solar, users can avoid paying for power from the grid. This is particularly important for businesses, as demand charges make up a large portion of their overall electricity bill. Once the infrastructure is in place, solar energy is renewable and free. With traditional, grid-connected chargers, the user has a lifetime commitment to pay for the energy; but with solar-powered charging, users never have to pay for the electricity. This is further supported with batteries that can be used to store excess electricity generated during daytime hours for use at night or during peak times, further reducing costs.

    Many across Europe have expressed the high upfront costs and the costly grid connection expenses to be their main barrier to EV adoption. With solar, the reduction in costs is inevitable. A recent study in the U.S. found that charging an EV with solar versus grid-connected chargers can save users hundreds of dollars a year when using a solar-powered EV charger versus a grid-connected one. 

  • More location options: Off-grid EV chargers can be installed anywhere, regardless of nearby grid connection. This makes them ideal for locations where connecting to the grid would be difficult or impossible, such as remote locations, sites with space constraints or businesses with temporary property leases. For many countries – and continents – this can be a tall order. For example, Australia has only 3,000 public EV charging stations; however, most are on the coast near major cities and avoid the vast outback. Off-grid charging eliminates this need, as the only requirement is exposure to the sun.

    Further, in Europe, it reportedly took 10 years to install 400,000 chargers; however, to keep up with demand now, 500,000 chargers must be installed every single year until 2030, and then some. But the question remains where to put them and if they need grid connection. Off-grid solutions eliminate this friction point as they can also serve as an alternative to upgrading energy services on site.

  • Self-reliant: As they are not reliant on the utility grid, off-grid chargers can and will operate even if there is an outage on the local network. As public safety power shut-off (PSPS) events and other outages due to grid constraints, fires and other natural disasters become increasingly common, having a reliable alternative power source will be crucial to charging EVs and providing relief. Moreover, as the countless initiatives across Europe to address the looming energy crisis – including Spain ordering shops to turn the lights off at night, Berlin turning off spotlights on its 200 historic buildings and monuments, and Paris, the infamous city of lights, shutting off its Eiffel Tower lights, among others, at 11:45 p.m. – every country needs a charging solution that is not dependent on the grid.

    Off-grid EV charging solutions are also ideal for critical applications such as emergency services, evacuation shelters, grocery stores, hospitals and more, from which nearly every country can benefit.

  • Sustainability: When renewable energy sources are used to generate electricity for an off-grid EV charger, it eliminates carbon emissions, which is a clear advantage over grid-tied EV charging. Grid-connected EV chargers often charge at night, which frequently relies on energy produced from fossil fuels. An off-grid charger that stores daytime solar energy in a battery and then delivers it at night is ultraclean with 100 percent green power. For those businesses, facilities or municipalities that do not yet offer EV charging, off-grid solutions provide a simpler way to provide that service while reducing the overall carbon footprint of their communities.

    Reducing carbon emissions is a huge priority for many countries. The EU has a goal to cut emissions by 57 percent by 2030; the U.S. wants to reduce their emissions by half by 2050; China has goals to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030; and Australia aims to reduce emissions by 43 percent, just to name a few. This is another reason off-grid solutions are an easy decision for nearly every country.

The energy transition will take much more than funds to make real progress. Utilities are expected to be slow in adopting renewable energy generation broadly and in permitting and connecting EV charging solutions. Off-grid solutions provide ways to eliminate friction points of adoption, as well as satisfy the growing needs of EV drivers where and when they want to charge. For all the reasons outlined above, every country can benefit from offering off-grid EV charging solutions. Not only will it help facilitate the rapid adoption of EVs worldwide, but it will also greatly contribute to the mass reduction of carbon emissions that the world desperately needs.