Folks often blame range anxiety as a reason not to buy an electric vehicle even though they live in an urban area with ample charging options, but things get even trickier for people in rural areas or for people who like exploring remote areas. Many new EVs tout their ruggedness and off-road abilities, but there’s limited infrastructure for fueling electric off-roading. What’s the spelunking EV owner to do? As a manufacturer that exclusively produces off-road focused electric vehicles, Rivian has a vested interest in facilitating EV off-roading. Today, it opens the first of several planned Charging Outposts open to all EVs, this time in the popular California destination of Joshua Tree National Park.
To maximize versatility and ideally future-proof the charging station, the chargers are capable of rapid charging up to 900 volts, provide CCS connectors with support for automaker-approved NACS adapters, tap-to-pay functionality, and the capacity to switch to NACS hardware later on. Rivian’s first Charging Outpost opened in Yosemite, California earlier this year, but the Yosemite location is only available to Rivian owners while the Joshua Tree Charging Outpost will serve all EVs.
The Joshua Tree Charging Outpost, as with the entire Rivian Adventure Network, is powered entirely by renewable energy, and offers snacks, coffee, and a children’s play area to keep the whole family entertained as their EVs charge. It will also provide education on EV charging basics and local ecologies, and give drivers somewhere to stretch their legs or kick back for a bit. Rivian doesn’t specify where the renewable energy comes from, how many vehicles will be able to charge at once, or how many charging stations there are at its Joshua Tree Charging Outpost, but the photos show at least a dozen chargers. The Yosemite Charging Outpost uses solar power to keep everything powered up, so the Joshua Tree location likely will too.
As we continue to experience more intense weather systems and extreme climate conditions, it’s encouraging to see EV chargers and resources expanding into more remote regions. More chargers in remote areas means more folks can comfortably take their EV off-roading, and take solace in the fact that the energy powering their exploration is entirely renewable. Rivian has plans to open more chargers like this in similarly popular sites in Texas, Colorado, Illinois, Montana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York.
