City of Sioux Falls preparing for future electric vehicle growth

As the city of Sioux Falls looks to the future, it is keeping a close eye on electric vehicle trends.

Although only 2% of Sioux Falls’ vehicles are currently EVs, city officials estimate that number could grow to as high as 8% in the next 10 years. That would be 20,000 electric vehicles in the city.

The cty of Sioux Falls is hoping to get ahead of the market.

In order to prepare for the new fleet of vehicles hitting the road – the city teamed up with HDR Engineering to collect and analyze local, state and national data for EVs. The study was completed to help the city gauge what is in place and what needs to be improved for a smooth transition.

Josh Peterson is the Environmental Services Manager for the city. He said one major takeaway from the study was the need for more charging stations in place.

“That’s one of the biggest barriers to the growth of EVs is that anxiety over charging locations and running out of charge and not being able to plug in. And that just becomes a more urgent issue when you look at a rural state like South Dakota,” Peterson said. 

As of last December, Sioux Falls had only 25 charging stations.

However, more stations mean more strain on the city’s electrical grid. Peterson said keeping homeowners, the city, and utility and electric companies on the same page helps avoid any major issues.

“One of the goals of this study was to develop this information so we could share what we’re forecasting for growth and share that with utility companies so that it’s just more data for them to make their plans as far as any upgrades to their facilities. It gave us confidence that they’re gonna be prepared and we should hopefully not see any major concerns as that growth happens,” Peterson said. 

In addition to growth concerns, the study detailed several other pros and cons of EVs. The study is available on the city’s website.