ROCHESTER, Minn.-Demand for electric charging stations continues to grow as The United States pivots towards non gasoline vehicles. 

Dairyland Power Cooperative's Manager of Innovation and Efficient Electrification, Jeff Springer, said there are currently three types of electric charging equipment. 

The first is a level one charger, which gives a vehicle about 4 miles per hour of charge.

The second is a level 2 charger, which Springer said operates at 240 volts and can produce 20 miles per hour of charge.

Springer said the third is the level three charger, better known as a fast charger. 

A fast charger operates at 480 volts and can give a car 150 miles per hour of charging, according to Springer.

More advanced fast chargers can give an electric vehicle 225 miles per half hour of charging but is not as compatible on older electric cars, Springer said. 

Springer said 80% of fast charging is done at home and that fast charging locations can be found in Austin, St. Charles, Stewartville and Rochester. 

In addition, Springer said federal funding will soon be applied to electric charging projects in Minnesota.

"The federal program lays out that along those corridors there needs to be four, 150 KW fast charging stations per site, every 50 miles. So, that build out will be starting in earnest in 2023 and probably will continue beyond that. We think it is possible Minnesota will designate Interstate 90 as well. 90 is a designated corridor in Wisconsin and in South Dakota, so there is that gap there and we feel like Minnesota will probably be under pressure to designate that as a corridor and go ahead and build that out with that much charging infrastructure," Springer said.

In California, the state is betting on its electric energy infrastructure to be ready for its new mandate, which requires all new 2035 trucks, vans and cars to be electric or hydrogen based.

Minnesota is one of several states that will have to decide if it wants to follow the western state's mandate. 

Springer said it is possible to achieve an all electric fleet by 2035 but calls it an ambitious goal. 

"You know its hard to say how fast adoption happens and how fast infrastructure gets built out and how fast things improve. I mean, look at cell phones. 20 years ago we had cell phones that were in a bag and you could tote them around and so forth. No one thought you would have a cell phone that would fit in your pocket that would have the whole internet on it and everything and it would be ubiquitous. Everyone has one. So, how fast adoption goes is kind of hard for me to predict. I think it technically is possible but that is an ambitious goal I will say, 2035, to be all electric everything," Springer said. 

In 2021, Gov. Tim Walz enacted the Clean Car Rule, which requires car manufactures to produce more zero emission cars like electric vehicles and hybrid cars. 

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