Stories You May Have Missed This Week: EV, Charging & Intelligent Electrification Roundup (12/03/25 Edition)

If you only skimmed the headlines this week, you probably saw more noise about EV politics than signal on what actually matters for buildings: where the chargers are going, how the math pencils out for fleets, and how storage, renewables, and smart buildings are quietly hardening the grid from the bottom up.

Underneath that chatter, there’s a very different story: EV charging networks doubling in size, California and Georgia adding thousands of public ports, new playbooks for fleet tariffs and interconnection, and a wave of analysis on how renewables, batteries, and AI-native building systems are becoming core business infrastructure.

Here’s a curated set of stories—each with a short summary and link—you can mine for board decks, investment memos, and site-level playbooks.

EV Infrastructure & Market Signals

1. EV charging networks have doubled since 2022 (Forbes) Marianne Lehnis pulls together data showing that global public charging networks have roughly doubled since 2022, even as headlines fixate on “EV slowdown” narratives. The piece highlights gaps in uptime, roaming, and driver experience—exactly the issues landlords and CPOs have to solve if they want chargers to function as amenities instead of complaints engines.  Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mariannelehnis/2025/11/26/ev-charging-networks-have-doubled-since-2022-now-they-need-to-start-working/

2. California adds 2,000+ public chargers in a single month (CleanTechnica) CleanTechnica tallies more than 2,000 new public chargers planned or installed in California in November alone, spanning DC fast hubs and Level 2 at workplaces, retail sites, and public parking. For owners, it’s a preview of how quickly a market can move once incentives, permitting, and utility programs align—and a reminder that “charger scarcity” is a moving target.  Read more: https://cleantechnica.com/2025/11/29/over-2000-new-public-ev-chargers-planned-or-installed-in-california-in-november/

3. Georgia’s 100+ new fast chargers along key corridors (CleanTechnica) Another CleanTechnica roundup tracks more than 100 new fast chargers coming to Georgia, much of it along freight and travel corridors that anchor tourism and logistics. It’s a case study in how a second-tier EV state can leap ahead quickly when DOTs, utilities, and site hosts converge on a corridor strategy.  Read more: https://cleantechnica.com/2025/11/26/more-than-100-new-fast-ev-chargers-coming-to-georgia/

4. 82 new public ports in Maryland’s capital region (CleanTechnica / Ameresco) Ameresco and local partners are adding 82 new public charging ports across Anne Arundel County and Annapolis, with an eye toward both residents and visitors to the state capital. For municipal and county property owners, the project is a model for bundling fleet, workplace, and public charging into one programmatic build-out.  Read more: https://www.ameresco.com/cleantechnica-82-new-ev-charging-ports-coming-to-part-of-maryland/

5. EVgo’s Q3 numbers show what mature utilization looks like EVgo’s Q3 2025 results highlight another quarter of record network throughput (in GWh) and revenue growth outpacing volume, driven by higher utilization and fleet/commercial contracts. For real estate partners, the message is that high-quality, highway-adjacent and urban fast-charging sites are moving from speculative amenities to operating businesses with visible growth curves.  Read more: https://investors.evgo.com/news/news-details/2025/EVgo-Inc--Reports-Third-Quarter-2025-Results/default.aspx

Fleet Economics, Tariffs & Interconnection

6. The hidden math behind truck charging (Forbes + Greenlane) In a Forbes Technology Council piece, Greenlane CTO Raj Jhaveri breaks down why energy pricing can make or break fleet electrification: a few cents per kWh at the wrong hour—or an unexpected demand charge—can erase the savings from switching off diesel. He argues for smart charging, batteries, and subscription-style pricing to tame volatility, which is precisely the playbook fleet depots and their landlords need to align on.  Read more: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2025/11/12/the-hidden-math-behind-truck-charging-why-energy-pricing-could-make-or-break-fleet-electrification/

7. Bridging the fleet interconnection gap (Forbes / First Student) Stacy Noblet’s Forbes column spotlights how interconnection delays are slowing school bus and fleet charging projects—and how players like First Student are responding with modular, staged “First Charge” solutions that can cut costs by up to 30% while working around utility bottlenecks. It’s a must-read for any owner hosting depots or yards that will need high-power charging before the grid is “ready.”  Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stacynoblet/2025/05/29/bridging-the-fleet-electrification-interconnection-gap/

8. Building what comes next: the U.S.’s new energy infrastructure (Forbes / Ameresco) Ameresco CEO George Sakellaris lays out a vision for an energy system that’s more electrified, digital, and decentralized, with customers taking a bigger role in generating, storing, and managing their own power. For CRE, campuses, and industrial parks, this reads like a roadmap for turning sites into mini-utilities with microgrids, storage, and smarter controls rather than passive ratepayers.  Read more: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2025/11/20/building-what-comes-next-the-uss-new-energy-infrastructure/

Storage, Renewables & Virtual Power Plants

9. You’d really miss renewables this winter if they weren’t there (CleanTechnica) Carolyn Fortuna’s analysis quantifies how much wind and solar are already cushioning winter electric bills and improving reliability, even as some policymakers downplay their role. For landlords and public agencies, it’s a reminder that long-term PPAs, community solar, and on-site PV are not just ESG moves—they’re hedges against volatile fossil prices.  Read more: https://cleantechnica.com/2025/11/30/youd-really-miss-renewables-this-winter-if-they-werent-available/

10. Energy storage exists, and it’s coming for fossil fuels (CleanTechnica) Tina Casey profiles 247Solar’s modular concentrating solar + thermal storage system aimed at round-the-clock power for commercial and industrial sites—part of a broader trend of storage replacing fossil peakers in both grid and behind-the-meter applications. The takeaway for owners: dispatchable clean energy is no longer a science project; it’s an emerging product category you can spec into campus and industrial designs.  Read more: https://cleantechnica.com/2025/12/02/energy-storage-exists-its-coming-for-your-fossil-fuels/

11. Virtual power plants thwart the “plot” against renewables (CleanTechnica) Another Casey piece looks at how virtual power plants (VPPs) aggregate rooftop solar, batteries, smart thermostats, EV chargers and more into dispatchable capacity that can stand in for gas peaker plants. For portfolios with lots of small sites—multifamily, small-box retail, clinics—it’s a blueprint for turning scattered assets into grid resources and new revenue streams.  Read more: https://cleantechnica.com/2025/12/02/virtual-power-plants-thwart-plot-against-renewable-energy/

12. Europe’s energy-cost squeeze and climate goals (Euronews) Euronews examines whether high power prices and industrial competitiveness concerns will slow Europe’s decarbonization push, highlighting the tension between short-term relief and long-term transition. For global investors and multinationals, it’s a useful macro backdrop for site selection, power-procurement strategy, and where to prioritize on-site generation and storage.  Read more: https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/11/27/going-green-will-high-energy-costs-derail-europes-climate-goals

Solar, Schools & the Public Sector

13. Solar power’s quiet windfall for public schools (CleanTechnica) Tina Casey also digs into how utility-scale and rooftop solar are cutting power bills for public schools while unlocking STEM education and workforce programs. It’s a compelling template for other public-sector owners—libraries, city halls, community colleges—looking to pair capital-light PPAs with visible community benefits.  Read more: https://cleantechnica.com/2025/11/30/solar-power-benefits-public-schools-and-whats-wrong-with-that/

Smart Buildings, AI & the Operating System Layer

14. Smart building systems are cutting energy waste—and AI is making them smarter (ACEEE) ACEEE’s November brief explains how modern building energy management and control systems are already delivering savings, and how AI is turning them into learning systems that optimize HVAC, lighting, and other loads in real time. For CRE owners, it’s a data-backed case for treating controls and analytics as core capex, not optional “nice to haves.”  Read more: https://www.aceee.org/blog-post/2025/11/smart-building-systems-are-cutting-energy-waste-and-ai-making-them-even-smarter

15. How smart buildings use AI to cut energy use and improve health (Penn State IEE) Penn State’s Institute of Energy and the Environment outlines how AI-driven systems use weather, air quality, and occupancy data to fine-tune building performance—cutting energy use while improving comfort and indoor air quality. For office, healthcare, and education campuses, it’s a practical vision of the “building operating system” we keep talking about: one that links power, comfort, and tenant experience instead of optimizing each in isolation.  Read more: https://iee.psu.edu/news/blog/how-smart-buildings-use-ai-cut-energy-use-and-improve-health