Lack of EV Chargers Could Impact NH’s Tourism Income
- February 19, 2025
- Natural Resources, Transportation
Drive Electric New Hampshire (DENH), a statewide coalition of public and private stakeholders dedicated to advancing electric vehicle (EV) adoption in the State, recently published a report on the relationship between tourism revenue and charging infrastructure. Specifically, the report argues that New Hampshire’s relative lack of investment for EV charging infrastructure is positioning the State to lose tourism revenue to its neighbors: Vermont and Maine. This is a serious concern considering tourism is the State’s second largest industry. In 2023 alone, visitors spent over $7 billion in the State, representing a vital source of income for many communities and regions.
ISO-New England, the region’s grid operator, projects that by 2033, the proportion of electric vehicles in New England will be exponentially greater than the current share. Specifically, their forecast suggests that Massachusetts alone will have 1.7 million registered EVs by 2033, with about 3 million total in New England. This figure would represent nearly 30% of the total vehicles on the road in New England. Data from the New Hampshire Travel and Tourism Department indicates that there were nearly 3.9 million vehicle trips to the State originating in Massachusetts in 2022. Within New Hampshire itself, ISO-New England’s forecast suggests that by 2033, EVs could account for 20% of the market share, or 200,000 vehicles on the road.
To accommodate this growing market share, the state needs more charging infrastructure. Currently, according to the U. S. Department of Energy, NH has 230 publicly available charging stations, while Vermont has 375 and Maine has more than 475. As a proportion of projected need in 2030, New Hampshire has just 7% of the Level 2 charging network capacity and only 22% of the projected fast charger need. While other states similarly lag their expected charging network need, NH is unlikely to invest state funds to develop this infrastructure, while its neighbors are taking a different approach. In the absence of significant federal investment, it is likely that the state will fall significantly behind in its network buildout.
During the summer of 2024, DENH developed a model to identify the potential economic impact to the state from this lack of investment. While the detailed methodology is available in their comprehensive report, the model was able to project revenue loss by New Hampshire tourism region from 2024 through 2031. In total, DENH suggests that the State could see a loss of $1.4 billion, with the Monadnock Region accounting for $152 million in a loss of revenue from visitors through 2031. While this is a model prediction and should therefore be considered an estimate that is subject to change, it is a sobering figure.
The Monadnock Region has several publicly available EV chargers in Keene, Peterborough, Walpole, and other towns, yet they are limited in number (see where using this interactive map). Most towns in the region have no publicly available chargers. Typically, EV owners will charge their vehicles overnight on lower-powered equipment. This is cheaper and more time-efficient than relying on public fast charging infrastructure. While home owners can install chargers on their own properties to charge their vehicles, renters who are interested in purchasing an EV rely on publicly available charging. The City of Keene, which has the largest population of renters in the region, has published an EV Infrastructure Plan to guide the city’s efforts. Specifically, the plan outlines electrification goals for several of the City’s public parking areas, as well as for the electrification of their own fleet. These efforts, and more, will be important to meet the Monadnock Region’s needs, as well as to meet the needs of visitors.
For more information about Drive Electric New Hampshire, please visit their website, or contact Jason Cooper of SWPRC staff at [email protected].
