One Of Minnesota’s Biggest Gas Stations Closing 1,000 Locations

It seems like a lot of big brands across the United States are facing bankruptcy, downsizing, or closures. Take Red Lobster, for instance. They just recently announced even more closures in Minnesota. Meanwhile, familiar Holiday Gas Stations have been rebranding as Circle K slowly across the region.

Major Gas Station Announces Nationwide Closures

Another major gas station has announced it plans to close 1,000 locations nationwide. They are the 6th biggest gas station chain in Minnesota.

Shell made the announcement that they plan to close 1,000 of their retail gas stations between 2024 and 2025. That's according to Intersolar's article. They made the announcement in their Energy Transition Strategy 2024 report.

Why is Shell closing its retail gas stations?

Shell says the closures represent the company's decision to shift their focus to expand services for electric vehicles (EVs). They plan on opening 70,000 public charging stations in the next year, and 200,000 by 2030.

Shell recently acquired charging company Volta

In Shell's new focus, they acquired a major charging company Volta last year. They've installed EV charging stations in Minnesota in cities including the Minneapolis - St. Paul area, Rochester, Duluth, and others.

Shell prepares for electric future with gas as a "back-up option."

Inside EVs covered the news saying that the major gas company expects that there will be 275 million EVs on the road by 2030. They believe that the future will have gas only in a backup role.

Read More: Holiday Gas Stations Are Disappearing Across Minnesota + Wisconsin

Shell has not announced which retail gas stations will close.

While the company is planning to close 1,000 gas stations nationwide, they haven't specified where. Common sense would be that the focus to shift to EV charging stations would happen in larger, urban areas first. It's likely that Minnesota will continue to see the company shift towards a more electric future.