Going Electric Showcase has us learning from neighbors

History holds many examples of how early adopters provided the critical bridge between new technology and the broader public in a way that ultimately drove widespread adoption.

Think about how seat belt use in cars spread in the 1980s because of stories from accident survivors who used them. Or how trusted community leaders and celebrities received new vaccines against smallpox and polio in the mid-20th century and encouraged others to follow suit. Or how rural electrification in the 1930s and ’40s grew as the first farmers to embrace electricity shared their experiences.

In a similar way, Eden Prairie’s early adopters of electric vehicles (EVs) and electric power equipment are sharing their stories to convince more of us to turn from gas to electricity as a way to slow climate change.

You can talk to these neighbors from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, at Staring Lake Park, where the City of Eden Prairie’s Sustainability Commission will hold another Going Electric Showcase, a free event featuring resident-owned EVs, electric bikes, electric lawnmowers, and electric snowblowers.

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Eden Prairie’s John and Jennifer Urbanski are among these alternative-power pioneers, though John admits with a laugh that they’re not early adopters of all technology. They just let go of an iPhone 6, even though the newest version is number 15.

They purchased their first EV, a Nissan Leaf, in 2016 and just bought their second, a Kia EV9, which has a much longer range on a single charge. They installed solar panels on their house in 2018. A year later, they purchased an EGO-brand snowblower, and in 2021, they bought an electric lawnmower, also made by EGO. They’ll have their Kia and lawn equipment at the Sept. 10 showcase, sharing how they’ve lowered their fossil-fuel emissions.

“A lot of this is just our awareness of climate changes, and our daughter who works in the climate area,” said John. “This is a small bit we can do for that effort.

“It may not be for everyone,” he added about the electric devices. “But there are many people for whom it would be a great option.” 

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No more trips to the gas station

Jeremy Hoehn, another showcase exhibitor and Eden Prairie resident, has a garage that’s far from your granddad’s. All of the Hoehn vehicles and power equipment run on electricity, not gas. That includes the leaf blower, hedge trimmer, chainsaw, and Tesla Model 3, as well as the Tesla Model Y and the Mammotion YUKA autonomous lawnmower he’ll showcase on Sept. 10.

Hoehn was wearing his brand-new pair of smart glasses while talking about his six-week-old robotic lawn mower and sweeper.

“I’m really interested in technology, and kind of a technophile,” said Hoehn, who works in software development, “so I like to try out new, interesting things, and autonomous robots are really cool.

“Yeah, I’m an early adopter,” he added. “The technology isn’t for everybody; it’s for someone who’s willing to put up with tweaking here and there to make them work. Overall, it’s an interesting thing, and it saves time.

“At this point, we don’t have anything that requires gas anymore,” Hoehn said. “It’s nice not to have to go to the gas station, particularly in the winter, and those types of things. Convenience-wise, it’s amazing.”

Having residents like Hoehn and the Urbanskis share their stories with other residents is an approach that makes sense to the commission, said Jennifer Fierce, the city’s sustainability coordinator and staff liaison to the Sustainability Commission.

“I think there’s a level of trust when you’re talking to people who could live in your own neighborhoods. Nobody is trying to sell you anything,” she said. It’s a “low-pressure environment.”

Still, the open-house-like event is an important step toward reaching some lofty city goals.

The Climate Action Plan, adopted by the Eden Prairie City Council in 2020, aims to achieve community-wide carbon neutrality by 2050. The plan calls for a rapid transition to EVs so that by 2050, all vehicles driving with Eden Prairie boundaries will be electric. 

This, when combined with more residents and workers walking or biking, working at home, and using mass transit, would reduce Eden Prairie’s overall fossil-fuel emissions by more than 38% compared to a business-as-usual model, according to the report.

Fierce keeps an eye on the state’s vehicle registration numbers and the rate at which EVs are growing. 

Compared to the plan’s interim goals for local EV adoption, “I think that we’re actually a little bit ahead,” Fierce said, with Eden Prairie consistently ranking among the top four or five Minnesota cities in number of annual EV registrations.

Roughly 18 EVs will be displayed by their owners at the Sept. 10 showcase, as will a couple of electric bikes and several types of power equipment. The event takes place in the portion of the Staring Lake Park parking lot nearest the amphitheater.