Even those who don’t drive electric cars will be expected to help pay for Xcel Energy’s $100 million plan to put 1.5 million electric cars on the roads in the states it serves by 2030.
Xcel Energy serves 3.3 million electricity customers in 8 states — Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico.
It will do that by promoting electric cars, providing rebates for people who buy an electric car, helping customers install residential EV chargers, and expanding the public charging network for electric cars. It also will develop time of use programs that will allow EV owners to save money on the electricity they use to charge their cars during times when electricity rates are lowest. Part of the program will be targeted toward low income drivers in underserved communities.
“As more and more people adopt electric vehicles, essentially you’re taking transportation fuel dollars that used to go into gas and they’re now being put into the utility grid,” Danny Katz, director of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, tells the Denver Post. Colorado is one state that has put a plan in place one of the nations most aggressive clean energy and carbon reduction plans. It has also signed on to the auto emissions program spearheaded by the California Air Resources Board.
Xcel Energy has created a plan to cut its emissions by 80% by 2035 and get to 100% emissions-free energy by 2050. The first part will be difficult, but eliminating the last 20% may require new technologies, says Ben Fowke, CEO of Xcel Energy.
Source: Clean Technica