Electric vehicles are here, and the demand for them is growing. Sure, the classic sound of a throaty V8 resonates deep within many of us, but it is inevitable that we migrate to a primarily-electric vehicle society. Not is all lost, however, as they are super quick off the line, usually filled with all sorts of gizmos and gadgets, and as time goes on... range anxiety goes away.

New Electric Vehicle Chargers at the BLIA Express Parking Lot

Next Thursday, June 30th, at 2 PM the Billings Logan International Airport is welcoming everyone to a ribbon cutting event to commission 6 new Electric Vehicle Chargers. Kevin Ploehn, Billings Director of Aviation and Transit, offered this:

Electric vehicles are becoming more popular and we wanted to be able to offer this service to the traveling public should they drive their EV to the Billings Airport to catch a flight

Pretty cool to have even more charging options for locals and tourists. Speaking of charging, did you know Billings already offers a few electric charging locations? In fact, Billings has a WIDE selection.

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Coming Soon

Constantly adding and improving, Billings has two locations getting chargers in the next year or so.

  • Town Pump - 517 Shiloh
    • Montana's Department of Environmental Quality awarded Northwestern Energy a grant to install 1 fast-charge station and one Level 2 charger "ChargePoint Express"
  • Target in the Heights
    • No details readily available

Tesla Only

A few years back, Tesla installed one of their "Supercharger" stations in Billings, which only (for now) work on Tesla vehicles. You'll find the Supercharger at 1801 Majestic Lane (Big Horn Resort).

Universal (sort of)

As for nearly all other cars, here's a list of just Billings/Lockwood charging locations (Data from PlugShare.com):

  • Underriner Volvo
  • Archie's Used Vehicle Center
  • Moose Lodge
  • Neurology Associates
  • Skypoint (with 50 feet of cable)
  • Wells Fargo Parking Garage
  • Park Two Parking Garage
  • Yellowstone Transit Authority
  • Billings KOA Holiday - Garden Ave
  • Bretz RV & Marine

I'd lean on the side of caution with some locations, and simply make sure they are public first, but that is plenty of options for the electric car user to juice up!

Range anxiety? A thing of the past.

My car, a '21 Kia K5, averages around 27MPG. Which, at a 15 gallon tank times the current price for gas (4.89/gal at Conoco on 27th) that is $73.35 to fuel it... and I get (maybe) 400 miles to a tank.

On the flip side, the national average to charge a Tesla to full is nearly $14. And say you have a Tesla Model 3 Long Range, which is the highest selling model, you get (maybe) 358 Miles per charge (full disclosure, Tesla limits your battery for normal day to day driving, that is only for highway mode).

Quite a cost savings for nearly the same range as my Kia, but... my Kia also was $32,000 off the lot. A Model 3 Long Range? $60,000 (before "potential savings")

As time goes on, electric cars WILL take over. With amazing range, lower pricing, and overall a better experience (nothing will replace flooring it with an amazing exhaust, however). At least you can rest knowing Billings is electric car friendly!

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