After the Mitchell City Council approved an agreement and easements with NorthWestern Energy, it paved the way for the utility company to build four publicly accessible electric vehicle (EV) chargers capable of charging most EV models.
The EV chargers are located in the city-owned parking lot on the corner of Rowley Street and Fifth Avenue across the street from the U.S. Postal Service office.
According to City Attorney Justin Johnson, a total of five parking spaces directly next to the chargers are designated for EV charging.
"Some of the electrical equipment will be put on a nearby pole, so that should save some space on the ground," Johnson said.
Initially, NorthWestern Energy sought to construct the EV chargers in the parking lot at the intersection near West Seventh Avenue and North Rowley Street. The council requested another location due to concerns of eliminating eight parking spots in a popular lot where downtown shoppers and Corn Palace eventgoers regularly frequent. The company worked with the city to find a better location that the council could get behind, which was the Fifth Avenue and Rowley Street parking lot.
Aaron Fox, a NorthWestern Energy official, explained the proximity of businesses and commerce, accessibility and visibility are key factors that dictate where charging stations would be a fit. That's why downtown Mitchell emerged as the ideal area NorthWestern sought to build its first EV chargers in the city.
"The objective is people would park near the Corn Palace to charge their EVs and go to the retail stores near there," Fox said during a September council meeting.
While the charging stations aren't the first to be installed in Mitchell, they are the first chargers built in a city-owned parking lot capable of charging most EV models unlike the Tesla chargers near Dairy Queen. The six Tesla chargers that have been in Mitchell for over a decade only served Tesla EVs. Tesla has recently rolled out a new method for non-Tesla EV drivers to charge at Tesla stations, but it's unclear if Mitchell's are equipped with the new technology, according to Tesla's website.
A local auto dealership, Vern Eide, has also been building EV chargers at its Mitchell locations. According to plugshsare.com, an EV directory, Vern Eide now has chargers at the north and central dealership locations in Mitchell.
Northwestern Energy officials indicated the average length of time it will take for most EV models to charge the batteries is 20 minutes.
Over the past decade, EVs have become increasingly popular across the country. However, they haven't taken off in some areas like South Dakota and other states with colder winters due to the battery range reducing when operating EVs in colder weather. Another reason industry leaders say they haven't seen the popularity like other states have is the lack of charging infrastructure, but that's starting to change.
The South Dakota Department of Transportation's data shows there are a little over 1,400 registered EVs in the state, as of now.
With a myriad of EV charging stations available in Mitchell, it provides chargers in the central portion of the state along Interstate 90 to help traversing across the entire state.
The latest installation of charging stations in Mitchell has revealed how some chargers are owned and operated.
NorthWestern Energy will collect revenue from the EV chargers, not the city. The company makes revenue off of the electricity being provided to charge EVs.
© 2023 The Daily Republic (Mitchell, S.D.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
