Northwest Iowa — With California phasing out the sales of gas-powered cars in favor of electric-powered cars by 2035, other states will probably follow. Plus, Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz and other car manufacturers have signed a pledge not to sell gas cars after 2040. That means not only will we have to solve problems like range and battery issues when the weather turns arctic, we’re going to have to come up with infrastructure to power all these electric cars as well, both at home and on the go.
Geoff Greenwood is the spokesperson for MidAmerican Energy, the company that provides electricity to Sheldon and a number of other northwest Iowa communities. We recently talked to Greenwood about the electric grid and how they are planning for a future in which more and more homes would have to charge electric vehicles. He told us they have ample supply now and will grow their grid as people are making the switch.
But we also talked about charging on the go. Greenwood says they’re in the process of making that available to more and more people as well.
He tells us their goal.
Greenwood says MidAmerican continues to expand its fast-charging network as well. He tells us they even look at it as an economic development tool.
He says most EV users will probably charge at home, but sometimes even local people may use one of their fast chargers if they need to hit the road and don’t have enough charge, as it is a faster charging process.
