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Missouri to Invest $100M in Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Posted on 08/11/2022

From St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  Missouri transportation officials are preparing to spend more than $100 million on electric vehicle charging stations as part of a national plan to boost the number of battery powered cars and trucks on the road.

The Missouri Department of Transportation recently submitted a draft report to the federal government outlining how it plans to add charging stations at key locations along the state’s interstate highway system.

The move could reverse a trend: Missouri has lagged behind other states in charging station build-out, a key issue in the expansion of electric vehicles. The state had been hesitant to invest, with electricity regulators and utilities at first waffling on their involvement. But the new plan is a signal that government and private industry are now preparing for a future with more EVs on the roads.

“The state is seeing a lot more coordination in terms of the transition to electric vehicles,” said Travis Wood, policy and program manager for the Missouri Energy Initiative, an association of public and private entities, including the state’s biggest energy utilities. “The state really needs to figure out how they are going to meet that growing demand.”

Electric utility Ameren Missouri also said the commitment is good news.

“We are excited that Missouri will have additional funds from the federal government to help with this effort. Ameren Missouri is focused on bringing more electric vehicle chargers across Missouri so drivers can feel confident when traveling across the state,” said Pat Justis, manager of Efficient Electrification at Ameren Missouri.

The program’s goal is a “safe, reliable, accessible, sustainable, innovative Electric Vehicle charging system that supports transportation choice, for a healthy environment and economy,” the draft report says.

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