- A Chevy Bolt gets a charge near West Alabama and Dunlavy. (Photo Credit: Gail Delaughter | Houston Public Media)
- Environment Texas expects many more cars like this Chevy Bolt will need charging stations in the years to come. (Photo Credit: Gail Delaughter | Houston Public Media)
- There's nothing under the hood of this Tesla. The motor is in back and the battery is underneath. (Photo Credit: Gail Delaughter | Houston Public Media)
- A Tesla is charged at a EV station at West Alabama and Dunlavy. (Photo Credit: Gail Delaughter | Houston Public Media)
According to a report from Environment Texas, Houston will have about 65,000 electric vehicles by the year 2030. But it could be hard for drivers to power those vehicles unless the city adds more public charging stations. The organization's Brian Zabcik said Houston needs to have on-street charging in neighborhoods as well as more stations near office complexes.
"That is really a golden place to do a lot of charging because people are going to be at work for several hours," said Zabcik. "Shopping malls are another obvious place. This can give businesses a competitive edge. It can be a benefit that they're offering to their customers."
Right now Houston has about 300 places where you can charge a vehicle. The report said the city will need a total of about 2,000 stations over the next decade, along with financial incentives for setting up those stations.
The Environment Texas report said electric vehicle sales nationwide were up 38 percent in 2016 and increased another 32 percent in 2017.
