Ten North Dakota communities will use part of a settlement with German automaker Volkswagen for constructing electric vehicle charging stations.
The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality will send $2.7 million to the regional governments and businesses for clean vehicle projects, consisting of 17 charging stations throughout the state. All but one are fast chargers that can charge vehicles in about 30 minutes.
Only 187 electric vehicles are currently registered in the state, and North Dakota has no Level 1 fast chargers. Several dozen Level 2 chargers are present in the state, however. They are cheaper to position, but they take hours to fully charge an electric car.
North Dakota had been awarded about $8 million through the 2016 Volkswagen settlement between the federal government and the automaker.
The stations will be present throughout the state, with the Interstate 29 corridor in the Red River Valley having the highest concentration.
The city of Bismarck is expecting to get $205,000 in settlement money so that they can fund two fast-charging stations, as well as a new, more effective diesel-powered forestry chipper truck.
