Minnesota cities have been working hard to prepare for transportation electrification, and GPI is proud that nine of them are the first in the nation to be designated as Charging Smart communities!
Charging Smart is a new designation program that prepares and recognizes communities for electric vehicle (EV) readiness. The program is funded by the US Department of Energy and led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), with GPI serving as a lead partner.
Charging Smart will become nationwide later this year, and we are excited to have Minnesota cities become leaders for peers across the country. Action by communities and municipalities across the US is essential to achieve our emissions goals, and this is a powerful example of how communities can engage in an equitable clean energy transition.
Celebrating the first Charging Smart communities
On April 17, we celebrated these nine cities in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. To earn an EV-friendly community status through Charging Smart, participants of the program chose to complete Bronze, Silver, or Gold designation levels, each with increasing requirements while all focusing on equity.
Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Jean Wallace, PE, presented the Charging Smart designations to the communities. GPI President and CEO Rolf Nordstrom announced a series of light-hearted awards that highlighted the importance of community in this cohort.
The following Minnesota cities earned a Silver designation:
- Hopkins
- La Crescent
The following Minnesota cities earned a Bronze designation:
- Eden Prairie
- Falcon Heights
- Faribault
- Inver Grove Heights
- Oakdale
- Roseville
- St. James
The following light-hearted awards were also presented:
- The City of Morris was named Electric Explorer for its ongoing commitment to exploring every aspect of transportation electrification.
- The City of Roseville was named Webpage Wizard for its early and quick adoption of GPI guidance on adding EV content to a city’s web page.
- The cities of Inver Grove Heights, St. Louis Park, Faribault, Falcon Heights, and Woodbury were all invited to be GPI’s BFFs, since each of them has participated in multiple GPI-led initiatives to accelerate EV readiness over the last seven years.
These cities are part of a cohort of 30 across the state. They have spent the last year working to accelerate EV readiness following a best-practice framework that consists of six categories—planning, regulation, utility engagement, education and outreach, government operations, and shared mobility. GPI facilitated this cohort, building on our experience in providing technical assistance to communities with similar goals over the past seven years.
To illustrate the history of this work and how it built the foundation of Charging Smart, we developed an interactive story map.
All participants made a noteworthy time and effort commitment, and GPI worked to make the program as accessible as possible by providing communities with regular webinars, opportunities for peer knowledge exchange, guides, templates, and one-on-one meetings.
At the celebratory event, the attendees had a chance to learn about best practices, the history of Charging Smart and the GPI initiatives that preceded it, and future opportunities for funding and technical assistance that will be available to Minnesota communities. The City of Eden Prairie graciously hosted the attendees, several of whom arrived in municipal EVs.
We thank the City of Eden Prairie and the following speakers:
- Ron Case, mayor of Eden Prairie
- Brianna Sanders, economic development director (City of St. James)
- David Wanberg, community & economic development director (City of Faribault)
- Noelle Bakken, sustainability specialist (City of Roseville)
- Jean Wallace, deputy commissioner and chief engineer (Minnesota Department of Transportation)
- Rolf Nordstrom, president and CEO (GPI)
- Ed Gilliland, senior director (IREC)
- Fernando Salcedo, general engineer (Vehicle Technologies Office of the Department of Energy)
- Siri Simons, sustainability program supervisor (Sustainability and Public Health Office of the Minnesota Department of Transportation)
Looking ahead
GPI looks forward to partnering with IREC and continuing to bring our experience in providing context-specific technical assistance and other best practices to communities across the nation through Charging Smart.
To learn more about the program or sign up for the next cohort, visit the Charging Smart web page.
