Sheldon, Iowa — Sheldon is one of fifteen cities across the state of Iowa to form, what MidAmerican Energy calls a first-of-its-kind statewide network of electric vehicle fast charging stations.
MidAmerican spokesperson, Tina Hoffman, says the plan is to have the chargers available every 50 miles.
In addition to Sheldon, MidAmerican wants to install D-C fast-charging sites in Altoona, Avoca, Carroll, Clarinda, Davenport, Dexter, Early, Emmetsburg, Iowa City, Fort Dodge, Little Sioux, Oskaloosa, Sioux City and Waterloo, which are all within the company’s service territory.
Hoffman says this type of charger can get people on their way after a short stop.
She says they will leave it up to the partners who provide the chargers to determine the cost of a charge. Hoffman says the company is also providing grants to help people buy electric cars.
She says the company is also providing 15-hundred dollar rebates for those who install a “Level 2” charging station, which generally charge electric vehicles in four to eight hours. The company plans to begin building the charging network by the end of the year. Hoffman says encouraging the use of electric vehicles goes along with their plan to eventually provide 100 percent of the electricity to their customers from renewable sources. Hoffman says the company now provides on average through the year more than 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources.
Hoffman tells KIWA that for the next thirty days MidAmerican Energy will be accepting applications from businesses who wish to partner with the utility by hosting one of the charging stations. Businesses can apply by clicking https://www.midamericanenergy.com/electric-vehicle-fast-charging-network
She says they hope to have a handful of the charging systems operational by the end of this year, and complete the statewide build out during 2020.
