Verendrye Electric Cooperative and Enerbase are celebrating having one of the first electric vehicle superchargers in North Dakota.

These companies are forward thinkers in this effort to bring a fast car charger to Minot.

For this project the two companies got the approval for a grant from the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality to pay for 80 percent of the cost of the project. The project is estimated to cost $72,000

The companies scheduled an open house and ribbon cutting starting at 2 p.m. today at the Enerbase Travel Plaza at 4750 Hwy. 83 North. During the event those attending can see how the charger works.

The charger is made by Chargepoint. It has an ouput of 62,000 watts which means it can charge a car to 80% in as little as 30 minutes depending on the type of car.

There aren’t many level 3 chargers in North Dakota – all owned by Tesla – but now Minot residents will be able to say there’s one right here.