Minnesota has a plan to support and foster the use of electric vehicles, according to a press release. The Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Pollution Control Agency and the Great Plains Institute have released “Accelerating Electric Vehicle Adoption: A Vision for Minnesota,” which provides a vision and strategies for encouraging greater adoption of electric vehicles and the necessary charging equipment across the state. It also sets a goal of increasing the amount of electric vehicles in Minnesota from about 6,000 today to 200,000 in 2030.

“Electric vehicles reduce pollution, improve public health, and are more efficient than internal combustion engines” said MnDOT Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher. “They are also a lot of fun to drive.”

Electric vehicles are cheaper to maintain and operate than traditional cars, according to the report. Although electric vehicles currently cost more than similar sized vehicles, the cost will decrease as more electric vehicles enter the market and the technology becomes more prevalent.

The vision document also addresses potential benefits that will come with greater electric vehicle use, including job creation that will support local and state economies, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improvements in air quality and public health, and support for environmental justice and social equity.

“Minnesota’s climate is changing and we must address this by reducing greenhouse gases in all parts of our economy, including our transportation sector,” said Commissioner Laura Bishop of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. “Our recent Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report revealed that expanding electric vehicles provides Minnesotans with a big opportunity for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the health of Minnesotans everywhere.”

“Electric vehicle technology is advancing rapidly,” said Tim Sexton, MnDOT chief sustainability officer. “The vision document describes those benefits in detail and offers some sound strategies that Minnesota can use to support electric vehicles, including ongoing work to support electric vehicle charging corridors. The MPCA is also using funding from the Volkswagen emissions settlement to fund electric vehicle charging stations.”

“There are many benefits for society at large,” Sexton said. “While there are clear environmental benefits from EVs, there is also a real economic opportunity for Minnesota to become the leader in EV adoption in the Upper Midwest for this rapidly growing and evolving technology. This vision is meant to help start that conversation and be a launching point for further exploration of how EVs can help support the people, environment, and economy of Minnesota.”

“At a critical time for Minnesota’s economic and environmental future, this Vision for electric vehicles offers Minnesota the chance to quite literally pave the way for a technological revolution in mobility as transformative as the switch from horses to cars,” said Rolf Nordstrom, president and CEO of the Great Plains Institute. “Collaborative public-private efforts like this are essential to fully realizing the many benefits that electrifying our transportation system will have on the health of residents, the total costs of driving, and the economy. We look forward to continuing to work with MnDOT, MPCA, and many others to help to make this Vision a reality.”

For more information and to view the report, visit MnDOT at www.dot.state.mn.us/sustainability/electric-vehicles.html or MPCA at www.pca.state.mn.us/encouraging-electric-vehicle-use-minnesota.