Gas or electric?

For Minnesota motorists, it’s a question of what kind of ride they want.

“I’m really on the fence about electric vehicles,” says Rochelle Chorlton, from Lake Elmo. “I want to see more of them come out, get the kinks out.”

The Kwik Trip gas station on Fifth Street North is one of 12 locations for new electric vehicle charging stations along I-90 and I-94.

“The few stations they’re putting up now are really a drop in the bucket, compared to what they really need,” explains Scott Lambert, with the Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association.

Lambert says for the state to meet its goal of 20% of cars and trucks going electric by 2030, a lot more charging stations are needed.

“It is really going on major corridors for the interstate,” he says. “If they really want EV adoption widespread, they’re going to need them in every corner in every town. They’re going to need them at rest stops. They’re going to need them everywhere.”

The new MnDOT initiative is moving forward, despite the recent suspension of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program (NEVI) passed by Congress in 2021.

How to pay for these new stations?

The transportation department says the Federal Highway Administration has secured $4.5 million, and the state will kick in about the same.

Private businesses are required to provide at least 10% of the project’s cost.

Gerald Gilsdorf from Oakdale says for him, EV charging takes too long, and there aren’t enough charging stations.  

“You won’t have time to sit around and let your car charge overnight,” he notes. “Sometimes you have to drive quite a way, and for me, it’s quicker to pull into the gas station and just fuel up.”

MnDOT says there are now over 66,000 EVs on Minnesota roadways, about four percent of registrations, compared to three percent the year before.

Lambert says there are a lot of hurdles ahead.

“I think we’re going to need a tech change to make this more attractive to Minnesotans who live in a cold climate,” he says. “Minnesotans buy a lot of trucks, and we don’t have a truck that can even maintain a charge for a long time in cold weather and has ability to tow anything.”

MnDOT says there are now 880 EV charging stations statewide, versus 2,000 gas stations.

The new charging stations are expected to be up and running by 2026.

Chorlton says she could consider driving an EV at some point.

But for now, she notes, she needs her gasoline-powered SUV to move her six kids around.

“With the lack of charging, of charging throughout, if you’re going out of town, scheduling, making sure you have enough charging, where gas stations are still relevant,” Chorlton says.