Minnesota Adds Electric Vehicles and Chargers to Clean-Fuel Roster

This is a text version of the Clean Cities TV segment Minnesota Adds Electric Vehicles and Chargers to Clean-Fuel Roster, which aired on August 31, 2015.

HOST: Minnesota is an established leader in biofuels. However, biofuels are not Minnesota's only clean-air choice. The state is now home to more than 200 charging stations, which includes 20 DC fast chargers. And charging stations are not only being integrated into businesses and multi-unit housing but also into Minnesota's parks and recreation areas, allowing EV owners to enjoy Minnesota's natural wonders without its hill climb.

SUSAN OVERSON: The Mississippi Natural River and Recreation Area was interested in integrating electric-vehicle charging stations into the park as part of its larger effort to develop an alternative transportation system that is seamless and recognizable to our park visitors. So this will be just another choice that our visitors will have to help us be sustainable and visit the park. They'll be able to commute or visit destinations and charge their vehicle maybe while they're visiting our Visitor Center and the Science Museum of Minnesota or taking a hike on a trail or, in some cases, maybe even commuting to work, using other forms of transportation as well.

HOST: With more than 3,000 happy electric vehicle owners and sales increasing more than 500 percent in the last 2 years, EVs are booming.

BILL MIDDLECAMP: I've always been interested in doing things environmentally sound and efficient. I'm always a big fan of efficiency. I started to get very interested in the possibility that I could actually own an electric car and then I started to research it and pay attention to my driving habits to figure out if it was going to work for me. And it did, and it turns out that it's a very economical car to drive. It's probably the cheapest car I've ever owned.

HOST: Electric vehicles aren't just being used by individuals today. Minnesota fleets are beginning to realize the potential of electric vehicles. Today the Marriott in Bloomington is using electric vehicles in their fleet.

TOD OSWALD: We're a 472-room hotel located only about 5.7 miles from the airport and about 3.7 miles from the Mall of America, so we're the second-busiest hotel in Bloomington. Our new initiative has come along starting July of this year to put forward 3 electric vans into our fleet. We have 3 electric vans out of a total fleet of 5. The other 2 vans are in less use than the electric vans so we are really proud of this initiative that we have in regards to lowering our carbon footprint. We've put quite a bit of mileage on our electric vans. They are obviously fuel-efficient.

The cost on the electric vans versus a fuel-run van, and we're talking about a comparable size of a gas van to our van, we're paying about $0.40 per mile right now. A gas van you would pay about $0.80 or a little bit higher, especially in the winters.

HOST: By educating fleets and consumers Twin Cities Clean Cities Coalition continues to provide technical assistance and resources to accelerate the deployment of EVs, helping Minnesota drivers plug in to a cleaner future.