What Makes a Site Right for a Robotaxi Charging Depot?

A robotaxi charging depot is smaller than most owners expect and sits much closer to the city. Land is rarely the hard part. Power is.

We read the public record on 46 fleet charging sites built or planned by Terawatt Infrastructure and Voltera, which agreed to combine with Revel in May 2026.¹ Eleven serve trucks. The other 35 serve ride-hail and robotaxi fleets, and those share a clear pattern.

How big is a robotaxi charging depot?

Often under an acre. Voltera’s Phoenix hub fits 15 dual-port fast chargers on half an acre.² Terawatt’s Scottsdale lot is 0.72 acres for about 51 charging stalls,³ and its planned Hollywood depot is 0.8 acres.⁴

These sites do one job: charging. Scottsdale’s permit rules out vehicle repair and car washing on the lot.³ The full-service depots, with repair bays and staff, are much bigger; see What Is a Robotaxi Depot?

How much power does it need?

Several megawatts. Voltera’s CEO says a 50-stall site in a market like Miami needs about 7.5 megawatts, because each stall is designed for at least 150 kW. That is why Voltera puts depots near utility substations; one of its Miami depots sits across the street from one.⁵ Terawatt’s 0.8-acre Hollywood site is planned at 6 megawatts.⁴

So the first question about your site is not its size. It is whether your utility can bring several megawatts to the parcel, and how long that will take.

Where do these sites go?

• Near airports. The Phoenix hub is minutes from Sky Harbor.²
• Near downtowns and nightlife. Voltera bought a San Francisco garage for its proximity to downtown and major roads.⁶ Terawatt says major rideshare pickup points are close to its Hollywood site.⁴
• On land already used for cars: a three-story parking garage in San Francisco,⁶ an existing parking lot in Scottsdale,³ and two leased surface lots in Santa Monica.⁷

The reason is empty miles. Terawatt’s modeling says better depot location can cut a fleet’s operating cost by up to $0.10 a mile.⁴ We worked through the same arithmetic in Six Lost Hours a Day.

What zoning do they use?

Usually commercial land with a conditional use permit. Scottsdale’s lot is zoned Highway Commercial, where vehicle storage is allowed with a conditional use permit. It will run 24 hours a day for fleet vehicles only.³

What can go wrong?

Neighbors. Waymo charges at two Voltera-run lots on Broadway in Santa Monica, on land owned by a property company. In November 2025 the city council declared them a public nuisance and ordered overnight operations shut. A court barred overnight use in July 2026, then stayed that order while Waymo appeals.⁷

In the cases we found, the fights happened where lots sit next to homes. Nighttime noise, lights and traffic are the issues to plan for before you apply.

Does my site fit?

• Half an acre or more of flat, paved land, or a parking garage floor.
• Inside or near a robotaxi service area, close to an airport, downtown or nightlife district.
• A path to several megawatts. Ask your utility for a capacity estimate first.
• Commercial or industrial zoning that allows vehicle storage or charging, or allows it with a conditional use permit.
• Distance from homes, or a plan for nighttime noise and lights.
• Room for 24-hour access, a fence and a gate.

Our site brief pulls land use, zoning, lot size, flood zone and chargers on site from an address.

What we do not know

• Power for most sites. Only a handful of the 46 publish their megawatts.
• The customer. Robotaxi charging sites usually serve one fleet and rarely name it. Waymo is confirmed at the Santa Monica lots.⁷
• Addresses for many depots, including Voltera’s sites in Dallas, Austin, Houston, Miami and Atlanta.
• Voltera’s full footprint. Its CEO cites 20 operating depots;⁵ we could place about half from public pages.

Have half an acre near a robotaxi zone and a line to your utility? List your property free. Tell us its size, zoning and power.