Getting to Green: Shifting to electric vehicles
Minnesota is making progress getting to green. But there is no way the state can avoid a worsening climate crisis without tackling the way we get around.
Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state. As part of its goal to be carbon free in 25 years, Minnesota aims to have electric vehicles make up 20 percent of all vehicles by 2030.
But while EV sales are growing, they currently make up less than one percent of vehicles registered in Minnesota.
And, we face bumps in the road to rolling out more electric vehicles.
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Where are we going to charge all those electric cars? How will the electric grid handle the surge in demand as more people shift to electric? And, how do batteries hold up in cold weather like we’ve been having this week?
Listen to a conversation that digs into some of these challenges co-hosted by MPR News correspondents Dan Kraker and Kirsti Marohn. It’s the final conversation in their three-day series of shows that expanded on reporting by MPR News in our series Getting to Green.
Guests:
Dan Gunderson is an MPR News correspondent based in Moorhead. He’s been leading the coverage of electric vehicles in the Getting to Green series.
Diana McKeown co-leads the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTS) through the nonprofit Great Plains Institute. The teams work at the community level across Minnesota to support clean energy projects, including transportation electrification. Diana is also a member of the Drive Electric Minnesota team at Great Plains Institute and has been an EV owner for over 10 years.
Beth Kallestad is a sustainability planner in the Office of Sustainability and Public Health at the Minnesota Department of Transportation. She oversees the state’s effort to build a limited number of electric vehicle charging stations along key highways in Minnesota funded through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program.
Want to continue the Getting to Green conversation in person? Join MPR News correspondents Dan Kraker and Kirsti Marohn at 5 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2024 at the Ursa Minor Brewery in Duluth.
There will be experts on hand to talk more about the energy transition in Minnesota and changes we can make in our homes and lives to “get to green.” Limited seats available. Register here.
Support for this series is provided by the Poynter Institute.
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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.