Last summer, the Great Plains Institute facilitated a project to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) through public EV charging installations in the Minnesota cities of Shoreview and White Bear Lake in partnership with employees from Cummins Inc. Both communities host Cummins facilities and were excited to collaborate on EV chargers as part of their work to advance sustainability. Cummins was looking for a project to advance sustainability in the communities where they have facilities and where many of their local employees live. The EV project demonstrated the value of partnerships in making progress on community sustainability efforts.
Electric vehicles contribute to city sustainability efforts
Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the US, and EVs have a vital role in reducing those emissions. Soon, EV choices will increasingly expand to match growing consumer interest, with electric models coming for nearly all auto manufacturers. Ride-sharing companies are also choosing to go electric, with Lyft recently announcing a commitment to 100 percent EVs by 2030.
Although most EV drivers charge at home over 80 percent of the time, adding public EV chargers in communities is essential for long driving days (over 100 miles per day) and extensive commutes, as well as raising awareness about EVs as a viable transportation option. Fortunately, charging infrastructure is growing along transportation corridors and in more and more communities, including many Minnesota cities.
Shoreview, White Bear Lake partner with Cummins on EV charger installations
Shoreview and White Bear Lake are both GreenStep Cities, which means they have been recognized as part of the statewide, voluntary GreenStep Cities program to help cities achieve their sustainability and quality-of-life goals. Installation of EV chargers is one of the many best practice options that cities have to choose from to advance in GreenStep Cities. White Bear Lake is currently a Step 4 city and plans to install EV chargers, which they’ll be able to point to as part of their GreenStep Cities best practices. GreenStep Cities recognized Shoreview, which has installed EV chargers, as a Step 5 city for the second consecutive year in 2020 (Step 5 is based more on metrics vs. additional best practices and has to be achieved annually).
Cummins was interested in working with the two cities to provide skill-based employee engagement to help them advance in the GreenStep Cities program. GPI connected with Cummins (Director of IDEA [Innovation, Disruption, Experimentation and Acceleration] Program Office Satish Jayaram is on GPI’s Board of Directors), Shoreview, and White Bear Lake, and the Cummins Foundation provided a grant to fund the collaborative project.
During the project, Cummins staff used the skills from their day job to support the cities’ decision-making process on EV chargers. Cummins engineers looked at the electricity implications for adding a charger and options for powering it with solar. They loaded all the questions that a city might think through for the charger into a matrix. Some of the questions they included: Should they charge for the electricity? Have a screen for advertising or education? A reminder system when the car reaches full charge?
In Shoreview, a Cummins communications specialist then helped create a marketing plan to educate and promote the chargers to the Community Center visitors (the location of the chargers). In White Bear Lake, a Cummins manager met with the local business association to discuss synergies for the downtown charger and presented the team’s research findings and recommendations to the White Bear Lake City Council in February 2020.
When asked about what they liked about the project, one Cummins employee said, “that my effort was actually going to benefit the decision-making process of a local government body to such that they can take active steps towards cleaner mobility.”
“Cities Charging Up” teams: Cummins employees were split into two teams assisting the cities of White Bear Lake and Shoreview in the assessment of EV charging infrastructure in the cities.
White Bear Lake accomplishments
- Partnership with local Century College (located in White Bear Lake) to increase understanding of linking EV charging with on-site solar production.
- Partnerships with the local business district and organizations to build enthusiasm for EV charging in the iconic and bustling downtown retail area.
- Created an in-depth decision matrix to aid the city and city council in choosing what kind of EV charger best suits them; this matrix can be scaled to be used by any entity interested in installing EV chargers.
- John Haine, with Cummins, presented the work and recommendations on behalf of the White Bear Lake project team at a city council meeting on February 11, 2020. He shared the team’s work, including the environmental benefits and opportunity for business revenue growth that an EV charger can bring.
- Research into incentives and financing options for the chargers and solar installations.
Ellen Hiniker, city manager for the City of White Bear Lake, said, “This was a great project and we would welcome future opportunities to collaborate.” The City of White Bear Lake plans to install the EV charger in their downtown retail district when renovations to the parking lot occur in the near future.
Shoreview accomplishments
- Surveyed the Minnesota market for EV charger models and researched how other municipalities handle charger fees for their consumers.
- Created a pricing analysis and recommendations on the type of charger and fee structure.
- Implemented new City of Shoreview marketing strategies to develop a communications and marketing plan for EV charger promotion and highlighting the Community Center location of the installation.
- Research into incentives and financing options for the chargers and solar installations.
Ellen Brenna, the natural resources coordinator for the City of Shoreview, said, “Shoreview is excited about getting our EV charging stations installed.” Brenna added, “This partnership was definitely instrumental in helping Shoreview move forward with this project; working with them was a pleasure and great experience.”
In June 2020, the City of Shoreview installed its EV charger at its state-of-the-art community center. GPI staff were able to bring together some members of the project team, including staff and some members of the Environmental Quality Committee from the city and a Cummins employee for a socially distanced photo (pictured above). It was the first work-related field trip for a few of us!
A Cummins team member said she was “honored to be part of this project and excited to see the implementation!”
Communities’ untapped partnership potential
The work by cities on sustainability benefits the residents and the employees working in a community. This city collaboration with Cummins was a unique partnership for Minnesota cities and a local employer to work together on sustainability. While this project may not be replicable in every community, there are partnership opportunities in every community just waiting to be tapped. There is still much work to be done on EVs and sustainability more broadly, and it’s only going to happen when community members decide they want it to happen. So, find something you’re passionate about, tell your neighbors, and find those untapped partnerships in your community.
If you are curious about whether your community has an EV charger, check out the PlugShare map.
To learn more about EVs or connect to city-related EV efforts, contact Diana McKeown [email protected].
