Leaders and staff members from OUC, Orange County, and the Orange County Convention Center, as well as elected officials from the county, gathered on December 4, 2024, to officially unveil OUC’s second high-speed electric vehicle charging hub in Orlando.
Located at 8500 Tradeshow Blvd., Orlando, 32819, the hub is near the Convention Center’s North Concourse, and just across Universal Boulevard from Universal’s Epic Universe’s new hotels. It’s been in operation since a soft summer opening and serves EV drivers, locals and visitors alike.
During the news conference, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the addition of the EV charging hub in the I-Drive District is a wonderful asset to the tourism district as the area welcomes millions of visitors annually. Demings also stated that Orange County is continuing to build on our world-renowned destinations by providing access to public charging stations for electric vehicles.
OUC and Orange County leaders unveil a plaque commemorating the official opening of OUC’s EV charging hub at the Orange County Convention Center. From left: Clint Bullock, OUC General Manager & CEO; Carrie Black, Orange County Chief Sustainability and Resilience Officer; Larry Mills, President, OUC Board of Commissioners; Jerry Demings, Orange County Mayor; Michael Scott, Orange County Commissioner, District 6; Nicole Wilson, Orange County Commissioner, District 1; and Christine Moore, Orange County Commissioner, District 2.
Six 240-kW direct current fast-charging (DCFC) ports, compatible with a variety of EVs including Chevrolet, Ford, BMW, Kia, Hyundai, Tesla and others, can fully charge a typical EV to 80% in about 30 minutes. Depending on the EV, that can add up to 245 miles of range.
“We’re proud to be here today commemorating our second electric vehicle charging hub. Almost a year and a half ago, we opened our first hub on Robinson Street in downtown Orlando. That hub’s been a popular charging station among EV drivers,” said OUC Commission President Larry Mills during the grand opening event. “The vision for this facility began in October 2020, when OUC partnered with Orange County and the Convention Center to bring EV charging to this busy and growing sector of our service territory.”
OUC’s first high-speed charging hub opened in July 2023. The Robinson ReCharge Mobility Hub, at 129 W. Robinson Street in downtown Orlando, features 21 DCFC, also known as Level 3, ports.
Since the opening of both hubs, the sites have hosted nearly 6,000 unique customers and dispensed more than 1.7 million kilowatts of energy.
OUC’s work in powering Central Florida’s EV charging infrastructure has never been more important in serving the region’s growing number of EVs, which has quadrupled since 2021.
Florida has the second most EVs in the nation, after California. Orange County is neck and neck with Broward County for the second most EVs in the state, after Miami-Dade County, and the number is growing rapidly. As of the end of October 2024, Orange and Osceola counties had a combined 54,858 EVs registered. Of those, 36,686 were in OUC’s service territory, which is a 104% jump from October 2023.
The OUC ReCharge Mobility Hub at OCCC has the capacity to be expanded to as many as 12 Level 3 chargers in the future.
The OUC ReCharge Mobility Hub at OCCC is located near the North Concourse of the Orange County Convention Center. Hotels for the new Universal Orlando Epic Universe theme park can be seen in the background.
More EV hubs are planned, with the next OUC ReCharge hub planned for the 4Roots Campus in the Packing District in Parramore. 4Roots organization’s mission is to offer healthful food choices to underserved communities, with a focus on sustainability, which makes it the ideal site for EV charging. OUC is planning three additional hubs with sites at Orlando International Airport, in east Orlando and in St. Cloud.
OUC also owns or maintains more than 300 charging stations around the region, although these do not feature DCFC ports for high-speed charging.
EVs are seen by OUC as a key element of its goal to reach Net Zero CO2 emissions by 2050, with interim targets of 50% reduction by 2030 and 75% by 2040.
That’s the equivalent of 5.5 million road miles of EV travel, which equates to eliminating 647 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
