On Thursday, September 2, Liberty celebrated the installation of two EV fast chargers located at Big Apple Travel Center in Joplin, Missouri. A first for Liberty and a first for the Joplin area, these direct current (DC) fast chargers will support EV drivers traveling in and through the region and can be used by any plug-in EV that is capable of using a DC fast charger. Liberty partnered with Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Air Pollution Control Program, which provided funds from the Volkswagen (VW) Trust Awards to help pay for the installation. This charging location helps meet DNR’s goal of creating a minimum practical highway travel EV charging network in Missouri.
“At Liberty, sustainability is central to our purpose. Supporting transportation electrification will help lead to lower carbon emissions and healthier communities,” stated Tim Wilson, Central Region VP, Electric. “It also makes sense for our business as an electric utility. We’re proud to support this expansion of the EV charging network to support our customers and others who have or plan to transition to EV.”
Conveniently located near a major regional travel corridor, customers and travelers can easily access the EV chargers, which offer approximately 250 miles of driving per hour of charging. They can even be paired if one isn’t in use for faster charging.
Operational since June 23, in the first 69 days the chargers provided 128 charging sessions and saved an equivalent of 240 gallons of gas and 1,357 kg of greenhouse gas.
Thank you to our partners on this project, DNR and Big Apple Travel Center, and a special thank you to our Liberty team members who led the effort on this project and continue to drive progress for our transportation electrification initiatives.
EVs are becoming a more familiar site across the country… why?
- Performance – EVs offer a quiet, smooth, and powerful ride. And more makes and models are making their way to the market.
- Affordability – Driving an EV, on average, costs roughly the same as paying $1/gallon of gas. Plus, you will save ~30% on maintenance. There are no oil changes and few moving parts to worry about.
- Environmental – Even when factoring in the production of electricity, driving an EV is better for the air quality and the environment.
Liberty’s first electric vehicle charging session occurred on May 23, 2017, at the Branson Landing in Branson, Missouri. Since then, we have expanded the public charging infrastructure to 53 ports including the recently installed DC fast chargers in Joplin. And the usage has increase dramatically – by 228%!
Other important metrics since Liberty’s program began:
- 77,205 kWh dispensed
- 39,950 kg of greenhouse gas (GHG) savings
- 9,689 gallons of gasoline savings
