Electric vehicle charging stations in demand near stateline

(WIFR) - With one signature, President Biden signs the Inflation Reduction Act into law, with a $369 billion investment in climate and energy policies. One of the main efforts to reduce fossil fuels is to prioritize electric vehicles.

But does the stateline have enough charging stations to keep up with demand?

In short, not yet.

The entire state of Illinois hosts about 874 charging stations. However, the United States Department of Energy estimates that the state will need about 17 times this amount to support the goal of 1 million electric vehicles by 2030. This means they’d have to increase that total by 15,000.

Sydney Turner, Director of Regional Planning for Rockford’s Region One Planning Council says the state is focusing on interstate travel, but a lot of local businesses are likening up to the idea of having them in their parking lots.

“There are a lot of businesses that are showing interest in putting in charging stations on their properties. this could be to draw consumers off the interstates that maybe want to charge, grab a bite to eat, do some shopping,” Turner said.

One of those businesses is Pig Minds Brewery in Machesney Park. Owner Brian Endl says a customer hooked him up with Tesla, who loved Pig Minds’ location so much, they installed the charging stations pro bono.

“They liked our location between Madison and the Twin Cities and so fourth as a stop to Chicago. And they liked we were two miles off the interstate,” he told 23 news.

In the past two years, the number of registered EV’s in the area increased 130%.

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