North Dakota became a much more welcoming destination for owners of electric vehicles in 2020. Funded in part by the state’s $8.1 million share of the Volkswagen emissions settlement, new fast chargers sites have opened in Minot, Fargo and Grand Forks, and others will open soon, including two in Bismarck.
North Dakota now has newly-built Tesla supercharger sites in Dickinson, Bismarck, Jamestown and Fargo. Unlike the chargers built using VW settlement funds, Tesla superchargers can only be used to fuel Tesla vehicles – the most popular electric vehicle brand in the state.
Why should a state famous for its petroleum resources care about electric vehicles?
In addition to producing petroleum, North Dakota produces electricity 24-hours every day. The least amount of electricity is consumed at night when most people sleep, so much of this power is unused. Almost all electric vehicle owners refuel their vehicles overnight at home, so they provide a new marketplace for the state’s home-grown energy.
This fact has not been lost on many utilities, such as Fargo’s Cass County Electric Cooperative, which has hosted electric vehicle events at its headquarters and has added several plug-in vehicles to its own fleet. Utilities throughout the state are offering special rates for members who own electric vehicles or discounts on home charger unit installations.
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While the number of electric vehicle owners in North Dakota is less than in many other states, they have developed something of a national reputation for their strong sense of community and their resourcefulness. Recently MotorWeek, the long-running PBS series, visited Fargo to interview local electric vehicle owners and utility officials on how the “last frontier” for electric vehicles was opening up and connecting with other electric vehicle owners from across the county.
One important connection to the rest of the country, Interstate 94, is the focus of the Michigan to Montana Project, more commonly known as M2M. This ambitious plan, funding by private sources and a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, seeks to build alternative fuel stations the entire length of the highway, including sites in North Dakota. Some of these stations include fuels produced in North Dakota, such as ethanol, compressed natural gas, propane and electricity.
According to “The Road to Cleaner Air,” a report the American Lung Association released earlier this year, North Dakota could see $78,339,494 savings in health care costs if electric vehicles were more widely-adopted by 2050. The report also notes the role electric vehicles have in reducing harmful air pollution – vehicle exhaust is the single largest source of air pollution and greenhouse gases in most parts of the country.
Electric vehicles may be a rare sight in North Dakota, but that is changing, and will change even quicker once the network of fast chargers along I-94 and I-29 are completed. When visitors with electric vehicles discover that North Dakota welcomes them, their vehicles, and their business, the word will soon spread.
Moffitt is the coordinator for Clean Cities North Dakota.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum's editorial board nor Forum ownership.
