Electric Vehicles

COMMENTARY
Wind turbines in a Wisconsin field. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A bright spot at the intersection of farming, electric vehicles and solar energy

BY: - September 30, 2023

The energy transition is in full swing across the U.S. and the world, but the changes now underway are not simple or linear. In an economy as complex and connected as ours, progress in one area will often affect other parts of the economy, creating winners and losers. And then there are the changes that […]

Shelly Stutson of Sioux Falls, right, talks about her all-electric Subaru Soltera at an EV Expo on Sept. 19, 2023, in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

South Dakota-led poll finds alignment of rural, urban opinions on electric vehicles

BY: - September 22, 2023

SIOUX FALLS — Around half of the rural Americans served by electric cooperatives expect less reliable service and higher bills because of electric vehicles. Even so, about half would consider buying an EV the next time they need a new vehicle. Those opinions came from Paulsen Marketing in Sioux Falls, which conducted a nationwide poll […]

(South Dakota Searchlight map via Datawrapper)

Company looking for lithium in Black Hills plans to drill 2 miles from Rushmore

BY: - July 19, 2023

A company’s plan to conduct exploratory drilling for lithium in the vicinity of Mount Rushmore has sparked criticism from an environmental group. The company is Midwest Lithium. Its South Dakota subsidiary, SDO Services, plans to drill up to 55 holes in an area that was historically mined for lithium about 2 miles northwest of Keystone […]

Officer Aaron Klein of the Sioux Falls Police Department fuels up at a Street Department facility on June 22, 2023. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Supply chain struggles complicate cities’ transition to electric vehicles

BY: - July 5, 2023

Morgan Jackson would love to get a few more gas-electric hybrids for the Sioux Falls Police Department. The SFPD’s four hybrids are 25-37% cheaper to fuel than the rest of the fleet. That’s no small savings for police cruisers, which average 30,000 miles a year. Non-hybrids burn up an average of $43,000 a month in […]

A driver uses a fast-charging station at John F. Kennedy airport on April 2, 2021, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Statehouses debate who should build EV charging networks

BY: - June 14, 2023

Though they only make up a fraction of cars and trucks on the road now, many projections — from Wall Street firms, trade groups and automakers themselves — predict an imminent surge in electric vehicles over the next decade. S&P Global estimates that the nearly 2 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads today will grow to […]

Two loons swim with their chick on Clear Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. (Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer)

Decarbonization ambitions ignite debate over mining, permitting  

BY: - May 31, 2023

The decarbonized, electrified future envisioned by the Biden administration, state governments, automakers, utility companies and corporate sustainability goals depends to a huge degree on minerals and metals. Lots more lithium will be needed for car and truck batteries, as well as the big banks of batteries that are increasingly popping onto the electric grid to […]

General Motors Co. announced plans to double revenue by 2030 with new battery-electric vehicles and hopes to surpass leading electric carmaker Tesla with the release of a new $30,000 electric SUV. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

States to receive $2.5B from feds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure

BY: - March 14, 2023

The federal government will send $2.5 billion over the next five years to states, local governments and tribes to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Biden administration officials said Tuesday. The new Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant program, which was authorized by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, will spend $2.5 billion over five years to build […]

A Switch vehicle. The vehicle can be built and re-built by high school students. (submitted photo)

Students in four SD districts to build electric vehicles from scratch

BY: - December 9, 2022

There aren’t many electric vehicles (EVs) on the road in South Dakota just yet, which means there isn’t a huge demand for EV-specific mechanics. That’s bound to change as more South Dakotans begin buying EVs. At least four South Dakota school districts are banking on it. High school students in Dell Rapids, Aberdeen, Sturgis and […]

General Motors Co. announced plans to double revenue by 2030 with new battery-electric vehicles and hopes to surpass leading electric carmaker Tesla with the release of a new $30,000 electric SUV. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Commission tasked with regulating EV charging rates says ‘best left to free market’

BY: - November 16, 2022

The $1.2 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress last year included a host of clean energy incentives. It also included a requirement that state public utility regulators conduct a hearing to discuss ways to encourage electric vehicle adoption within a year. On Nov. 8, just a few days shy of the deadline, the South Dakota […]