Electric vehicle infrastructure on the horizon as registrations rise

DULUTH — The number of electric vehicles in northern Minnesota has increased dramatically over the past four years, but with Minnesota Power’s EV charger project delayed and similar federally funded projects in their initial planning stages, the needed infrastructure to support the EV ownership boom remains on the horizon.

In a September 2021 news release, Minnesota Power announced its plan to install and operate 16 fast-charging stations across northern Minnesota, the construction of which was to be completed in 2023. But they haven’t been built so far, and supply chain delays and a continued search for contractors have caused Minnesota Power to potentially push the completion date to 2024, according to Katie Frye, Minnesota Power's manager of customers and services.

“There's just a lot of interest and a lot of activity happening around EVs, and so it's really put a strain on the supply chain. And that's everything from chargers themselves to utility equipment,” Frye said.

Minnesota has gone from approximately 10,000 registered EVs in 2019 to over 34,000 as of January 2023, according to data from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commision . While the vast majority of these vehicles are in the Twin Cities metro area, northern Minnesota has seen a dramatic increase as well. Duluth’s share of registered EVs jumped from 80 in 2019 to 328 in 2023, and the number of EVs in Minnesota Power’s service area has nearly quadrupled over the same period — making it the utility with the seventh-largest number of registered EVs in its service area.

Gary Meader / Duluth News Tribune

“So the reason that we proposed this project in the first place was because there are areas within our service territory where there are no public charges available,” Frye said, “and when you think about the clean energy transition, we really wanted to make sure that northern Minnesota is not left behind from an electrification perspective. And so with this project, no Minnesota Power customer would be further than 30 miles from a public fast charger.”

Minnesota Power selected target communities based on criteria such as proximity to large population centers, access to major travel corridors and proximity to existing DC fast chargers. Frye said they are working on identifying site hosts so they can start installing chargers as soon as they’re able to secure a contract.

Xcel Energy recently scrapped its own plan to build 700 charging stations over the PUC's decision not to approve the rate hike of 21% over three years they asked for, according to reporting from MPRNews . When asked what the move means for Minnesota Power, Frye said, “Minnesota Power’s plan is substantially different in scope than Xcel’s and at the current time we are moving forward with our EV charging plan.”

Minnesota Power plans to have ratepayers cover the cost of construction, but Frye said, “Any revenue from EV drivers charging will be applied to the capital cost of the project to bring it down. So our hope is that EV drivers will recover a good portion of the chargers’ cost.”

Covering the cost of construction and maintenance is a concern for the city of Duluth, leading to a “wait-and-see approach,” according to Duluth sustainability officer Mindy Granley. The city currently owns charging stations under a Canal Park solar array and another by the St. Louis County Depot. While the city charges for parking, EV charging is free.

“But, eventually, we want to move to a place where we're charging for the power that you use, and that’s just kind of to make up for the difference to continue to maintain those stations,” Granley said.

But a barrier is fees associated with proprietary software used to charge customers, which exceed the potential revenue from traffic those charges currently receive, according to Granley.

While the city itself isn’t looking to install any more chargers in the near future, federal dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill will be used to do so. The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant awarded to improve West Superior Street includes plans to install EV charging stations, though Granley said the exact number hasn’t been determined.

Other federal money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill will be used to beef up Minnesota’s charging network statewide. The Minnesota Department of Transportation is developing plans to install 16 charging stations along Interstate 95 and I-35, part of the state’s existing Alternative Fuels Corridors, in accordance with the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. Beyond that, MnDOT has not planned for other roadways in northern Minnesota, according to Beth Kallestad, the principal sustainability planner for MnDOT.

“We're required to meet the build-out requirements for the Alternative Fuel Corridors first. We cannot spend funds on any other NEVI formula funded projects,” Kallestad said.

While MnDOT hasn’t identified where the next round of investments will occur, Kallestad said, “We are very much aware that both the northern and the far southern parts of the state have roadways of interest for this long-distance travel that will be important to have infrastructure built out on.”

But more work beyond MnDOT’s project is needed to build up Minnesota’s charging network.

“The Minnesota or the NEVI-funded stations really are going to be a drop in the bucket to probably what's going to be needed over the long term,” Kallestad said.

Amber Backhaus, vice president of public affairs for the Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association, cited range anxiety as one of the reasons auto customers are hesitant to go electric.

“While the range of electric vehicles has definitely improved over the last few years, I think there's still a lot of anxiety about where to find a charging station and how long it takes to charge,” Backhaus said.

She added that more Minnesota dealers becoming authorized to sell EVs would help fill gaps in the state’s charging network.

“Franchised new car dealerships are located on high traffic highway corridors in all corners of the state, so more EV-certified dealers means more access to fast-charging stations by the motoring public as they cross Minnesota,” Backhaus said.

“It will have to be a collaborative effort,” Granley said. “We want to coordinate with folks so that we don't duplicate, so that we share that collaborative spirit about public and private sectors working together to meet regional goals for providing EV charging infrastructure.”

Duluth’s Planning Commission has discussed the possibility of requiring charging stations as part of a proposal to rework the city’s parking requirements, but tabled the measure at a hearing in February.

Kelli Latuska, the public information officer for the city, said, “The Planning Commission continues to research the tabled measure and intends to revisit it in the next few months, potentially as soon as July.”