Evaluating Power Demand Dynamics at a Rural U.S. Highway DC-Fast Charging Station.

The proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) and EV charging infrastructure along the U.S. Interstate Highway System poses significant challenges to the power grid. To address these challenges, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive understanding of the power demand characteristics for existing EV charging stations along interstates. This study presents an analysis of the charging trends and demand behaviors of a level-3 DC-fast EV charging station on the U.S. interstate using two years of actual 15-minute smart meter data. The rural location of the EV charging station provides representative charging trends and behaviors for EV charging stations along the U.S. Interstate Highway System in the rural region. The analysis investigates demand trends for both years based on different time periods, such as month, season, and weekday, and introduces a new index term, Charging Behavior (CB), to analyze the similarities in the charging demand behavior at the EV charging station between both years of demand. Additionally, the study investigates the seasonal impact of EV traffic density. The findings of this study can inform power professionals and researchers in preparing for the increase in EVs and EV infrastructure along the U.S. Interstate Highway System.