Xcel Energy proposed new and enhanced electric vehicle (EV) charging programs and high-speed public charging options in Minnesota and Wisconsin to make charging at home and on the go easy, fast and more affordable for all customers.
The plan also includes new EV programs and solutions supporting businesses, multifamily buildings, community charging, transit and electric school buses.
In 2021, the company launched a record 14 new clean transportation programs in Colorado and Minnesota, and this year, rolled out a suite of new EV programs for customers in New Mexico. The new programs are in addition to those already offered to customers in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
This current proposal dramatically increases the number of public EV charging stations in the region, making it easier for drivers to charge on the go, by adding about 750 high-speed charging stations across Minnesota and Wisconsin, including up to about 1,500 charging ports total by 2026. The company will work with interested communities and site hosts on locations for charging stations in both urban and rural areas, particularly along interstates, state highways and other traffic corridors.
The proposal enhances the successful EV Accelerate at Home program, which provides a turn-key option working with local electricians to install a home charger, in both states to better meet customers’ needs and expands programs and charger options to help businesses provide EV charging for employees, renters, fleet vehicles and the public.
In Minnesota, an electric school bus pilot is also proposed, as part of the company’s partnerships, research and innovation initiative. Through the school bus pilot, Xcel Energy will help address the upfront cost and operational challenges of transitioning to electric buses and better understand how these buses can most efficiently support and integrate into the electric grid, among other research objectives. Pending regulatory approval, the 32 buses will be used in a vehicle-to-grid demonstration project to help maximize the benefits of electric buses to schools and to the electric grid.
To continue driving progress on clean transportation, Xcel Energy also announced a new zero-carbon transportation vision that drives toward providing the infrastructure and energy to run all vehicles in its service area on carbon-free electricity or other clean energy by 2050. The new vision complements the company’s interim goal of enabling one out of five vehicles in the areas it serves to be electric by 2030.
Expanding the company’s transportation vision supports its overall goal to become a net-zero energy provider by 2050. By enabling a zero-carbon transportation future, the company’s clean energy can also help customers save billions of dollars in fuel costs and allow everyone in the communities it serves to experience the benefits of electric transportation, whether they own an EV, use public transit or benefit from improved air quality.
Xcel Energy’s zero-carbon transportation vision for 2050 includes:
• Providing the fueling infrastructure and energy system to run all vehicles in its service area on carbon-free electricity or other clean energy.
• Ensuring all customers can access affordable, convenient electric vehicle charging at or within one mile of their homes and that underserved communities have opportunities to participate in Xcel Energy programs and the economic development benefits associated with zero-carbon transportation.
• Operating a zero-carbon Xcel Energy fleet.
