Site Selection for Public DC Fast Charging: A Scoring Method

Short answer: a public DC fast-charging site needs demand (enough passing or visiting EVs), a reason to stop for 15–40 minutes, grid capacity close by at a reasonable cost, visibility and easy access, and land terms that outlast the equipment. Score every candidate with the same weighted sheet, check the grid before you sign, and leave room to grow.

The seven factors

Factor	What to look for	Data
1. Demand	Traffic or visitors per day; local EV share and its growth; fleets nearby	Traffic counts, vehicle registrations, site owner data
2. Dwell and amenities	Toilets, food, shop, Wi-Fi, lighting; open long hours	Site visit
3. Access	Directly on the route; easy in and out; space for vans and trailers	Maps, site visit
4. Visibility	Seen from the road; signage allowed	Site visit, planning rules
5. Grid	Spare capacity; distance to a transformer; upgrade cost and time	Utility capacity check
6. Competition	Other fast chargers nearby, their power, occupancy and reliability	Charging maps and apps
7. Land terms	Lease length, rent or revenue share, rights to expand, exclusivity	Draft agreement

A weighted scoring sheet

Give each factor a score from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent), multiply by the weight and add up. Adjust weights to your strategy — a fleet-focused operator may weight anchor customers higher.

Factor	Weight	Site A	Site B	Site C
Demand	25 %
Dwell and amenities	15 %
Access	10 %
Visibility	10 %
Grid capacity and cost	20 %
Competition	10 %
Land terms	10 %
Weighted total	100 %

Any site that scores 1 on grid or land terms should usually be dropped, whatever its total.

Demand: from traffic to sessions

A simple estimate per day:

Sessions = vehicles passing or visiting × share that are EVs × share of those that would charge here

Then energy per day = sessions × average energy per session (often 25–40 kWh at highway DC sites, depending on the vehicles and dwell time). Compare the result with the break-even utilization of the planned chargers. Cross-check with real data: occupancy of nearby chargers in apps, and conversations with local taxi, ride-hailing and delivery fleets — an anchor fleet can make a marginal site viable.

Site types compared

Site type	Strengths	Watch out for
Motorway service areas	Long-distance traffic, amenities, visibility	High land cost, concessions, medium-voltage connection
Fuel stations	Familiar to drivers, shop, canopy	Forecourt space, fuel-traffic conflicts
Supermarkets and retail parks	Visits of 20–45 minutes, high footfall	Opening hours, landlord terms
Urban hubs	Taxis, ride-hailing, residents without home charging	Land cost, grid capacity in cities
Restaurants and roadside cafés	Natural dwell time	Smaller grid connections
Logistics areas	Fleet anchor customers	Little amenity for private drivers

The grid check

Before signing a lease, ask the utility:

1. How much capacity is available at the nearest transformer?
2. What would a new or upgraded connection cost, and how long would it take?
3. Which tariffs apply — and are there demand charges? (See demand charges.)
4. Can capacity be increased later on the same connection?

A site with good traffic but a long, expensive connection may still be worth it — but only if the score and business case include that cost. Details in grid power for DC sites.

Regulation and corridors

Public policy can create or remove demand. In the EU, AFIR requires charging pools at regular intervals on the TEN-T network; in the US, funded programmes have targeted corridors. Being early on a required corridor can be an advantage — or a reason to expect competition soon.

Visit at the right time

Visit the shortlisted sites at the times your users would charge — Friday evenings on highways, Saturday midday at retail parks, early morning at taxi hubs. Check queuing traffic, lighting, safety, mobile signal for the chargers’ 4G connection, and where the cable route and transformer would go.

Leave room to grow

• Bays and space for twice the first phase.
• Ducts to future bays laid in the first works.
• A connection that can be upgraded without a new substation.
• Lease rights to add chargers.

Compact DC cabinets help where space is limited — see EV charging at fuel stations and highways.