Electric-vehicle takeup slow in Northern Plains; states with many rural folk continue to favor gas over charging stations

Tesla charging stations (Photo: Abbie Parr, The Associated Press)

For rural residents, the choice to drive an electric vehicle is often not simple or easy. "Concerns over range and the effects of sub-zero weather on battery life are higher on the vast northern prairies, areas of which have the fewest charging stations in the country," reports Tom Peterson of Stateline. "Political debates over ethanol, emission standards and market forces also envelop the region. . . . The shift to EVs across the Upper Midwest and Great Plains lags."

Practically speaking, the need for charging stations in Western states presents a horse before the cart challenge. Residents don't want to purchase a vehicle that can't be refueled. Charging stations aren't built because there's not many EVs to use them. "North Dakota (roughly 400 vehicles), Wyoming (500) and South Dakota (700) have the fewest EV registrations in the nation. . . . Across western North Dakota, bison outnumber EVs," Peterson writes. "The number of EVs with ranges of 300 miles or more nearly tripled in 2022, growing from five to 14, the U.S. Department of Energy reported. But in North Dakota, that’s barely a one-way trip from Dickinson to Fargo."

It's 292 miles from Dickinson to Fargo, N.D. (ND Roads map)

Regional economics and politics also create EV acceptance barriers. "North Dakota and other states in the region are top-10 producers of ethanol. . . . Because as much as 40% of U.S. corn is used for ethanol, the states fear more EVs will have the ripple effects of a drop in ethanol demand on their agriculture economies," Peterson adds. "The rural-urban and red-blue divides in the region also enter the debate over the push toward EVs." Marc Geller, a spokesperson for the Electric Vehicle Association, which promotes EVs, told Peterson, "It's been kind of unfortunate that electric cars have become caught up to some extent in kind of the partisan divide and the culture wars."

Peterson notes, "Across the region, difficult political decisions lie ahead . . . . as states build out their EV policies. . . . and how states will use their shares of the $7.5 billion in federal funds set aside for charging infrastructure. Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming — all large, rural states with long stretches of remote highways — joined in a comment to federal regulators, noting the difficulties complying with the requirements, E&E News reported."

Wide EV acceptance may be slow, but it is progressing. "For Geller, education is vital as state policies evolve. Technology is rapidly addressing the range and weather-related issues that rural, northern auto buyers cite as their chief concerns about EVs," Peterson reports. "At-home chargers, he said, are often underplayed in the discussion and make rural ownership more practical."