Rural Roads: Exploring the Frontier of EV Adoption – CleanTechnica

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Last Updated on: 8th August 2025, 12:32 am

By Mark Jacobs, Co-Founder, EVmath.org

In the national conversation about electric vehicles, rural America is often treated as an afterthought—or worse, a lost cause. There’s a sense that rural communities are bought into all the myths about EVs—that they’re too expensive, can’t handle country roads, and will end up stranded with a dead battery. 

But what if there were free-thinking farmers, ranchers, and rural families who cut through all the noise and were saving thousands of dollars a year thanks to their EVs? And what if those folks wanted to share their stories, with the hope of helping their neighbors make the switch? 

These are the questions that we set out to answer with EVmath.org, a new statewide campaign in Oregon designed to accelerate the adoption of EVs in rural America—funded primarily through the Rural Climate Partnership and Portland General Electric, our state’s largest electric utility. 

Earlier this year, we scoured the state for rural EV early adopters and found ten trailblazers willing to step into the spotlight. They live a wide variety of lives—from an organic farmer, to a veterinarian, to a ranch mom, to an accountant. And they drive a wide variety of EVs—Tesla Model Y, Chevy Bolt, Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian, the list goes on. What they share is a love of their EVs—especially the cost savings. Collectively, they’re saving over $38,000 per year in fuel costs.

They also share a desire for more rural families to experience the benefits of EV ownership. That’s why they donated their time to this campaign, letting us visit their properties and meet their families, as well as their horses, pigs, and chickens. Here’s a quote from Tim Nesbitt, who lives on a small farm in the town of Independence:

“I was drawn to this effort for its facts-based focus on sharing the benefits of EVs. We need more understanding of the merits of EVs, divorced from politics.”

Another person leading the way is Brandie McNamee, who lives on a 4,000 acre ranch in Antelope, Oregon (population of 37). Brandie juggles more than the average human, including transporting her three kids and the neighboring ranch’s three kids to and from the nearest school bus stop, 18 miles away. In this short video, she explains why she made the switch:

Bridging the Rural/Urban Divide

Here in Oregon and across the country, rural EV adoption is significantly lower than it is in urban and suburban areas. Per the Oregon Department of Energy, while 35% of Oregonians live in rural parts of the state, only 13% of EV registrations are in these areas. Why is that a problem? Rural drivers spend nearly twice the percentage of their household income on gasoline due to the longer distances they have to travel, according to recent research from Coltura. That’s a huge, unnecessary burden, and a major drain on rural economies.

The primary barriers to adoption aren’t infrastructure or income. Many rural residents own their homes, have room for chargers, and already have 240-volt outlets in their garage, barn, or shop. The real challenge is cultural: the perception that EVs are for tree-hugging city slickers and can’t be trusted.

That’s why our campaign is focused on cold hard cash, and stories straight from real rural people. The campaign makes no mention of climate change, and it definitely doesn’t suggest that anyone get rid of their diesel truck. Our goal is to simply invite people over to EVmath.org where they can hear from their neighbors, crunch the numbers, and come to their own conclusions. To make it easy, we built the most simple, user-friendly cost savings calculator out there.

What does success look like? It’s a meaningful uptick in new and used EV registrations in the places where we promote the campaign. We’re collaborating with the Oregon Department of Energy to track and analyze the data, and will share the results later this year.  

This is a replicable model. Rural communities across the country—from Montana to Mississippi—stand to benefit from the same simple approach: elevate local voices and let the numbers speak for themselves. If we want EVs to be a part of the mainstream American identity, we need more than incentives and infrastructure—we need to build trust. That’s what EVmath.org is testing in Oregon, and if it works, the impact could extend far beyond state lines.