County points to federal grant as EV charger buildout ramps up

Teton County commissioners on Aug. 13 are set to discuss a Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities tourism marketing proposal, and staff are pointing to a separate federal buildout to answer the practical question: will there be enough chargers if more visitors arrive in electric vehicles. In a Q-and-A memo, staff say that through the U.S. Department of Transportation Community Fueling and Infrastructure grant program, the Town of Jackson and eight partners “will be bringing 55 new Level 2 stations and up to 40 new DC Fast Charging stations online by the end of 2027,” with many expected online by next summer’s travel season. staff report

The memo puts today’s baseline at 28 stations and 70 charging ports in Teton County, including 31 ports at 11 lodging establishments. Staff also included a back-of-the-envelope capacity estimate, saying that if existing stations ran continuously “the current station count can accommodate up to 68 vehicles per day,” compared with a rough estimate of 37 tourist vehicles a day needing a charge if 1.9% of the valley’s 19,750 average daily vehicles are electric. staff report