St. Paul adds Minnesota’s first public electric vehicle to its city fleet

For Immediate Release: January 18, 2011

ST. PAUL – This morning, Mayor Chris Coleman and the City of Saint Paul held a kickoff event with Drive Electric Minnesota, a coalition of government, private businesses, and nonprofit organizations that are working together to encourage and facilitate the widespread deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) in Minnesota.

The event highlighted the arrival of the first of eight all-electric Ford Transit Connect vehicles in Minnesota, made possible by Xcel Energy and Azure Dynamics Corporation. The City of Saint Paul will receive three electric vehicles totall, and the cars will be incorporated into its municipal fleet. Mayor Coleman was joined by Governor Mark Dayton, Congresswoman Betty McCollum, and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, as well as representatives from Xcel Energy, Ford Motor Company, and Azure Dynamics.

Fresh Energy—a member of Drive Electric Minnesota—praised the leadership of coalition members. “We applaud the City of St. Paul, Xcel Energy, Ford Motor Company, and Drive Electric Minnesota for partnering together to bring the first public electric vehicle to Minnesota,” said Transportation Policy Director Ethan Fawley. “We know this is only the beginning for electric vehicles—what we need now is need sustained public and private leadership to drive national electric vehicle investment that will spur Minnesota’s economy in the short- and long-term.”

Currently, more than a third of all Minnesota’s air pollutant emissions come from cars and trucks. With gas prices rising, electric vehicles are an increasingly important part of an energy system that is efficient, independent, affordable, and clean. EVs have zero tailpipe emissions and if the electricity to charge an EV comes from 100 percent solar or wind power, no air pollution of any kind is created during the generation of the electricity or the EV’s use. To help make this a reality, Drive Electric Minnesota is working to install 30 plug-in charging stations throughout the metro area. Four to six of these publicly available charging stations will be solar powered.

“By connecting electric vehicles with Minnesota’s abundant wind and solar energy resources, it’s possible to power our cars with 100 percent clean, renewable, and homegrown Minnesota electricity rather than sending billions of dollars a year out of the state to buy oil” said Fawley. “It’s an environmental and economic imperative that we make this transition—Minnesota families cannot afford to be trapped when gas passes $5 per gallon.”

The City of Saint Paul is using a portion of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to purchase three Ford Transit Connect electric vehicles and dozens of charging stations. Additionally, Xcel Energy and St. Paul will each contribute toward the purchase of the vehicles.

For more information, background on the coalition, and a complete list of Drive Electric Minnesota members, visit www.driveelectricmn.org.

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ST. PAUL – This morning, Mayor Chris Coleman and the City of Saint Paul held a kickoff event with Drive Electric Minnesota, a coalition of government, private businesses, and nonprofit organizations that are working together to encourage and facilitate the widespread deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) in Minnesota.