St. Paul unveiled the new electric vehicle for its city fleet today, amid praise from the governor and others.

The city's Ford Transit Connect is one of the first city-fleet electric vehicles in the country, and St. Paul plans to add two more soon.

Gov. Mark Dayton was at the unveiling this morning and said: “I salute Mayor Coleman for his outstanding leadership in bringing this exciting initiative to St. Paul.”

Congresswoman Betty McCollum was there, too, noting: “Investments in clean energy technology like St. Paul’s electric vehicle project are clearly the right thing to do for the air we breathe, but they’re also the right thing to do for our bottom line. Cleaner air and costs savings add up to a win-win for taxpayers.”

Representatives of Ford and Xcel Energy were there and, not surprisingly, said they think it's a great idea.

"Ford's Transit Connect Electric is an ideal choice that will help St. Paul on its road to become a greener city,” said Mary Culler, Ford's government affairs director. “We believe collaboration between utilities like Xcel Energy, municipalities like St. Paul and automakers like Ford is critical to accelerating acceptance of electrified vehicles to reduce emissions and increase energy security."

Judy Poferl, president and CEO Northern States Power Co.-Minnesota, an Xcel Energy company, said: “Everyday use of these vehicles will also help us better understand the impact of the technology on our system and how we can prepare to serve a large EV [electric vehicle] market in the future.”

Drive Electric Minnesota, a partnership of local and state government, Xcel Energy, private business and nonprofit groups. plans to install 30 public charging stations — including six that are solar powered — in convenient places around the metro area.

The city says it is leveraging $286,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for the electric vehicles and charging stations. In addition, Xcel Energy’s Chairman’s Fund and the city are each contributing $60,000 toward the purchase of the St. Paul vehicles.