New Electric Vehicle Charging Station Open in Sturgeon Lake

Original article from 10/13 ABC Eyewitness News.

A new electric vehicle charging station opened today.  The station is off of I-35 in Sturgeon Lake and it's one of three that are part of Minnesota's first electric corridor between Duluth and the Twin Cities.  

The charger is a Level Three Direct Current charger.  This is the fastest type of charger there is, allowing cars to get a full charge in 20 to 30 minutes.  

The new station came together with the partnership of ZEF Energy, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Lake Country Power, Great River Energy, and Doc's Sports Bar and Grill. 

These stations show that electric cars are starting to grow in popularity. 

"It's more or less inevitable that cars will become electric, but they're going to become electric at a far faster rate than people expect," Matthew Blackler, the CEO of ZEF Energy, said." 

Electric cars have taken a long time to catch on though.  

"Everybody's scared they're going to run out of electricity, like I'm going to run out of gas like I'm going to run out of electricity," Jeff Sheldon, with Lake Country Power, said.  

New charging stations, like the one in Sturgeon Lake, are helping pave the way for electric vehicles. 

"With this charging station, now they're going way over 200 miles on a full charge," Sheldon said.  "That takes the fear out of buying an electric car and driving it North." 

For people that are worried about price, these cars are actually becoming more affordable, with cars like the Chevy Bolt.

"The average price of a vehicle in the United States is $35,000," Blackler said.  "If all of the electric vehicles going forward are cheaper than $35,000, they are cheaper than your average car."

Electric vehicles are also going to be beneficial for the environment.

"We have issues with climate change, but also energy security and things like that, so electric vehicles allow you to use home grown energy," Blackler said.  "It could be on your roof, it could be from a wind farm, it could be from a nuclear power station in your state, but the point is that the energy is local."

These cars are not only fuel efficient, but they're also cost efficient too.  The cost to fully charge is usually around five dollars or less. 

ZEF Energy hopes to announce more projects in the next six months.