>> CATHY: CAN THE STATE REACH ITS GOAL OF 20% OF CARS ON THE ROAD BEING E.V.S BY 2030?

THE EXPERTS AREN'T SURE.

THERE ARE FEDERAL TAX CREDITS FOR BUYERS AND DOLLARS ARE FLOWING IN FOR INFRASTRUCTURE.

AND THERE ARE E.V.

CHARGING STATIONS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

REPORTER KAOMI LEE SETS OUT TO SEE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO TAKE AN >> KNEES DAYS, ELECTRIC VEHICLES, OR E.V.s, ARE ALL THE BUZZ.

SO HERE I AM RIGHT NEXT TO THE TWIN CITIES PBS OFFICES IN DOWNTOWN St. PAUL AND I'VE JUST RENTED THIS CHEVY BOLT.

THE PLAN TO DRIVE 291 MILES TO THE GUNFLINT TRAIL IN GRAND MARAIS, ON A FULL CHARGE, THIS 2023 BOLT CAN RUN FOR 247 MILLIONS.

I DOWNLOADED AND APP CALLED PLUG SHARE, IT LISTED ALL THE CHARGERS ALONG MY ROUTE.

WISH ME LUCK.

E.V.s RUN ON ELECTRICITY, MOST OF THEM USE A LITHIUM ION BATTERY.

THIS BOLT USES 29 KILOWATT HOURS PER 100 MILES.

>> WE'RE AT ALMOST 35,000 E.V.s IN MINNESOTA RIGHT NOW.

>> AND THE GOAL WOULD BE, IN 2030, 600 -- >> 600 TO 700,000 BECAUSE THAT'S 20%, YEAH.

>> HE'S ON THE FRONT LINES, PUSHING FOR E.V.

EXPANSION.

SO WHAT'S HOLDING PEOPLE BACK?

>> A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THAT THERE'S THIS RANGE ANXIETY, THAT THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THEIR TRIPS USING AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE BECAUSE THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE DOES OT HAVE THE RANGE WHICH IS NOT TRUE ANYMORE.

>> HE SAYS MOST NEW E.V.s TODAY HAVE A RANGE OF AT LEAST 200 MILES ON A FULL CHARGE.

>> THERE'S ANOTHER PERCEPTION THAT E.V.s ARE EXPENSIVE.

>> A CHEVY BOLT STARTS AT $27,800.

TAX CREDITS REDUCE THAT PRICE EVEN LOWER, AND IT'S CHEAPER TO CHARGE THAN UYING GAS.

BUT HERE'S WHERE TESLA STILL HAS AN ADVANTAGE.

SO I STOPPED HERE AT HINCKLEY, MINNESOTA, A NATURAL PIT STOP, AND MY CHEVY BOLT HAS ABOUT 50% CHARGE LEFT, AND I'VE DONE ABOUT 80, 90 MILES AND I FOUND THIS TESLA SUPER CHARGER STATION.

THERE WERE EIGHT SUPER CHARGERS BUT YOU WERE E.UNFORTUNATELY THEY'RE NOT YET COMPATIBLE WITH OTHER CARS.

I FOUND SOME TESLA OWNERS TO TALK TO.

>> IS RANGE ANXIETY REAL?

>> NOT FOR US.

YEAH, WE'VE NEVER COME CLOSE TO RUNNING OUT OF CHARGE AND WE DO HAVE A CHARGER AT HOME.

>> >> AND COULD YOU GET TO YOUR CABIN ON ONE FULL CHARGE?

>> YEAH, WE CAN'T GET TO THE CABIN ON A GLADDER BUT... >> FOR THE TIME BEING, IT'S IN ITS OWN CATEGORY.

MY EXPERIENCE WAS A BIT MORE HIT OR MISS.

THIS CHARGING STATION NEARBY ANDED UP BEING A REGULAR OUTLET.

IT COULD HAVE WORKED IF I HAD A FEW DAYS.

IN MOOSE LAKE, I FOUND A FAST CHARGER BUT YOU NEEDED AN APP AND AN ACCOUNT AND I COULDN'T GET IT TO TAKE MY CREDIT CARD.

STAFF AT THIS BUSINESS TOLD ME THEY REMOVE THEIR PLUGS ALTOGETHER.

MORE LOST TIME.

THAT'S SOMETHING E.V.

DRIVERS RIGHT NOW ARE RESIGNED TO.

I MET THIS DRIVER IN SQUAD ON A DIFFERENT TRIP.

>> RIGHT HERE IN St.

CLOUD, THERE'S ONLY A FEW DIFFERENT LOCATIONS THAT HAVE E.V.

CHARGERS AND IF YOU PULL IN AND THERE'S SOMEBODY SITTING THERE, USING THE CHARGER, YOU KIND OF HAVE TO EITHER LOOK TO -- TO MOVE ON TO A DIFFERENT CHARGER OR SIT AND WAIT.

>> FEDERAL INVESTMENT IS ON THE WAY.

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WILL SPEND ABOUT $68 MILLION IN MINNESOTA TO INSTALL D.C.

OWES FAST CHARGERS, THEY'LL GO ALONG THE INTERSTATE CORRIDORS.

PART OF A NATION-WILD BUILD-OUT OF AN E.V.

CHARGING NETWORK.

BETH IS A SUSTAINABILITY PLANNER AT MnDOT.

>> IT'S TAN A LITTLE BIT TO GET UP AND GOING AS IT'S A NEW TYPE OF PROGRAM AND WE HAD TO GET SOME AUTHORIZATION FROM THE LEGISLATURE AND -- >> AND THAT JUST HATCHED.

>> THAT JUST HAPPENED AT THE END OF MAY, SO NOW WE HAVE THAT APPROVAL AND WE'RE WORKING ON GETTING OUR SITE PAPERWORK IN PROCESS, ALL SET UP.

>> THE FIRST PHASE INCLUDES 18 FAST-CHARGING STATIONS NO MORE THAN 50 MILES APARTS.

>> WE KNOW THAT OUR CHARGING STATIONS WILL NOT MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL THE USERS.

WE KNOW THEY'RE A START.

>> SHE SAYS THEY'RE WORKING TO FILL IN THE COVERAGE GAPS.

THE STATE HAS AN E.V.

GOAL OF 20% OF NEW CARS ON THE ROAD BY 2030.

>> WE'RE CURRENTLY AT ABOUT HALF A PERCENT.

>> DO YOU EXPECT THE E.V.s TO COME ON THE MARKET AND THEN PEOPLE TO BUY THOSE FIRST OR SHOULD THE CHARGERS COME FIRST?

>> THAT'S A QUESTION THAT NO ONE KNOWS.

GOVERNMENT HOPES ITS INVESTMENT WILL SPUR ON PRIVATE COMPANIES.

ENERGY COMPANIES LIKE EFF ARE WORKING TO EVELOP NEXT-GENERATION CHARGERS AND THEY'VE WORKED WITH CITIES.

IN GRAND MARAIS, I FOUND A D.C. FAST CHARGER AND LEVEL 2 CHARGERS.

THE SET PUT THEM IN IN 2021 AND OWNS THEM.

>> WE DO SELL POWER FOR MORE THAN M WE BUY IT FOR.

IT'S NOT A HUGE REVENUE FOR S BUT WE'RE NOT LOSING MONEY ON THE CHARGING STATIONS.

>> I DID MAKE IT TO THE GUNFLINT TRAIL AND THERE'S EVEN A CHARGING STATION, ROCKWOOD LODGE, A CALIFORNIA BIN RESORT ANDOUT FITTER, ADDED TWO PUBLIC CHARGERS.

THE PLUGS COST ABOUT $800 BUT THE INSTALL WAS ARRANGED $10,000.

CARL MADSON IS ONE OF THE OWNERS.

HE SAID THE INVESTMENT JUST MADE SENSE.

>> IT'S PARTS OF YOUR SOUL, TOO, IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT TO DO, YOU WANT TO DO RIGHT BY THE ENVIRONMENT AND BY THE WORLD AND I THINK IT IS THE FUTURE AND I THINK WE DO HAVE A NEED O GET AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS AND GETTING INTO AN ELECTRICAL VEHICLE JUST SEEMED LIKE IT WOULD BE EVENTUALLY SO WHY NOT DO IT SOONER THAN LATER.

>> AND WHILE YOU'RE CHARGING, HE SAYS YOU CAN GRAB A CANOE AND PADDLE IN PARADISE.

>> >> CATHY: HERE WITH MORE ON HER ELECTRIC VEHICLE JOURNEY "ALMANAC"'S OWN KAOMI LEE.

DID THE TRIP GO AS YOU THOUGHT?

>> WELL, THERE WERE SOME SNAFUS ALONG THE WAY.

THE ONE THING I DID REALIZE, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY A DIFFERENT MINDSET, YOU KNOW, WITH THE GAS VEHICLE, YOU JUST JUMP IN YOUR CAR AND GO AND YOU CAN FIND A GAS STATION ALONG THE WAY AND THE EXPERIENCE IS PREDICTABLE.

WITH E.V.s, YOU REALLY HAVE TO PLAN YOUR TRIP AHEAD.

THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE STATE OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE MOMENT.

IT'S KIND OF HIT OR MISS AND SO IT IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF WAY OF THINKING ABOUT YOUR TRIP, REALLY PLANNING AHEAD IS THE WAY TO GO.

>> Eric: DID YOU GETS A SENSE OF FIRST HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE AND HOW EXPENSIVE AND CHALLENGING IT WILL BE TO GET UP TO SCALE WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND SO FORTH?

>> WELL, I MEAN, I DON'T REALLY HAVE ALL THOSE ANSWERS BUT -- >> Eric: JUST FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE.

>> WELL, I THINK WE'RE A LONG WAY OFF FROM THE TARGETS THAT THE STATE HAS IN ITS STATE CLIMATE ACTION FRAMEWORK.

YOU'VE HEARD IN THE STORY THAT FOR E.V.

DRIVERS ON THE ROAD, WE'RE AT LESS THAN 1% AND THE TARGET IS -- WHAT PEOPLE WANT IN SEVEN YEARS, AND SO WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO AND THERE IS SOME QUESTION ON, YOU KNOW, YOU HEARD ALSO IN THE STORY, OF WHETHER THE CHARGERS COME FIRST OR THE CAR BUYERS.

>> Cathy: YOU KNOW, YOU SAID IN THE PIECE THAT YOU HAVE TO BE -- AND YOU SAID HERE TONIGHT, TOO, YOU HAVE TO BE PLANFUL, SO TO BE BLUNT, WERE YOU LEFT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD?

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, TO BE HONEST, DIFFICULT RUN OUT OF CHARGE AND YOU'VE HEARD THIS THING CALLED RANGE ANXIETY.

I THINK I NEEDED MORE RANGE ANXIETY BECAUSE I WAS, YOU KNOW, VERY -- YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HAVE FIFTY MILES ON YOUR CAR LEFT TO GO, ON YOUR CHARGE, AND YOU HAVE ENOUGH TO GET TO THE NEXT CHARGING STATION, IT'S UNPREDICTABLE WHETHER THAT CHARGING STATION IS GOING TO WORK, WHETHER USER ERROR, WHETHER YOU'RE GOING TO UNDERSTAND THE INTERFACE BECAUSE ALL THE DIFFERENT COMPANIES HAVE DIFFERENT KIND OF MACHINES SET UP, PAYMENT SYSTEMS, AND SO I DID MAKE IT TO GRAND MARAIS AND I WAS AT ZERO CHARGE LEFT AND I COULDN'T GET THE CHARGER TO WORK AT FIRST AND SO I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO BE SPENDING THE IN MY CAR.

FORTUNATELY, AFTER ABOUT N HOUR OF TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO -- YOU KNOW, TRY TO WORK ON THINGS AND TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT, I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CHARGE AND I WAS ABLE TO GETS TO THE GUNFLINT TRAIL.

>> Eric: IS IT FUN TO DRIVE?

>> IT'S VERY FUN TO DRIVE AND TO BE HONEST, PERSONALLY, I THINK MY CAR NOW IS THE LAST GAS CAR THAT I WILL OWN.

I REALLY DO THINK I WILL BE CONVERTING TO E.V.

SOMEWHERE DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE BUT I THINK FOR A LOT OF DRIVERS, YOU KNOW, MnDOT MADE A STUDY A FEW YEARS AGO AND, YOU KNOW, 40% OF RESPONDENTS SAID THAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN BUYING E.V.s BUT THE BARRIERS ARE EITHER THE COST PERCEPTION AND THE STATE OF OUR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK.

>> Cathy: WELL, KAOMI G