Colorado’s electric vehicle-hungry car buyers are on pace to make EVs 25% of new car sales by 2025, according to a new three-year review by state officials, but energy leaders must build thousands more charging ports over two years to keep pace. 

If Colorado stays on track for 65,000 light-duty EV sales in 2025, governments and utilities need to have installed or at least awarded 1,700 ultrafast DC chargers and 5,800 slower Level 2 public chargers by then, according to the “2023 Electric Vehicle Plan,” the first since 2020. 

Transportation is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado, and one of the largest local sources for ozone-causing emissions that lead to EPA rule violations. Colorado set goals for 26% greenhouse gas reductions from a 2005 baseline by 2025, and 50% by 2030. Those goals have long depended on getting 940,000 EVs on state roads by 2030. U.S. statistics show about 1.6 million light duty cars registered in Colorado. 

Colorado car sales included 10.5% EVs in 2022, up sharply from 6% in 2021. Coloradans buy about 200,000 to 220,000 new light-duty cars a year. 

Colorado had 719 DC fast chargers in place by the end of 2022, and 3,750 Level 2 chargers, the report said. Adding thousands of ports with federal and state money in coming years includes targeting both business and tourism corridors. Colorado has $56.5 million to build DC fast chargers along federally designated interstates and other major roads, and also plans to increase the number of “electrified byways” on state Scenic & Historic Byways to 23 by 2025 from three in 2020.

Read the full story on ColoradoSun.com.