SEMPO contemplates an electric future locally

On the same day President Joe Biden was promising sharp carbon emission cutbacks in the U.S. to attendees at a climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Cape Girardeau City Council greenlighted the development of an electric vehicle (EV) readiness plan for the municipality.

The Nov. 1 council vote authorized a $94,435.31 contract with Overland Park, Kansas-based consultant Olsson.

Eighty percent of the funding for the plan will be paid by the federal government through pass-through funds from the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission. The rest of the money will come from local resources, said Alex McElroy, executive director of the Southeast Metropolitan Planning organization (SEMPO).

The other 20% will come from SEMPO member entities, the voting members of the organization's Board of Directors: the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson, Cape Girardeau County, the Cape Special Road District, the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority and the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission.

Following the plan

Two Ameren Missouri-branded charging stations for electric vehicles in the parking lot of Schnucks supermarket Thursday in Cape Girardeau.Jeff Long

On April 21, SEMPO approved a 25-year Metropolitan Transportation Plan with a partial goal of "conducting transportation-related activities in a manner that supports responsible management of the environment."

One of the ways, McElroy said, a community may live into the goal of being better environmental "stewards" is to develop an EV plan.

Olsson, in a detailed prospectus prepared for the project praised SEMPO's vision.

"While most government planning organizations are still waiting to see what happens, [SEMPO's] forward-thinking leadership is determined to actively plan, prepare and benefit from the impact of EVs," read the document.

EV infrastructure

"One of the challenges EV cars have is the uncertainty of where you're going to charge them," said McElroy, who has led SEMPO since 2019. "There was a recent study of EV owners (and) it found 80% of them prefer to charge their cars at home. But a 2019 American Housing Survey revealed a third of homeowners in the country and nearly two-thirds of renters don't have access to a garage or carport. That would be a significant hurdle to overcome for a large number of people who decide to invest in an electric vehicle if they don't see anywhere in their community that they can consistently charge it."

Two conspicuous charging venues in Cape Girardeau are in the parking lots of Schnucks supermarket at 19 S. Kingshighway and Century Casino Cape Girardeau at 777 N. Main St.

McElroy said there has been some discussion about a future charging location near the recently completed diverging diamond project at Center Junction between Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

The EV difference

"From the information I've come across, [EVs] have a lot fewer parts that might fail on them than a gasoline-powered vehicle. An EV is essentially a battery connected to wheels. Where the motor would be, for instance, there's an extra trunk in the front. There are a lot fewer moving parts in an EV than in a traditional car. On the other hand, it could be harder to find people to actually work on them," explained McElroy, who said he expects Olsson's final report no later than September.

Expectations

"There should be certain recommendations within the plan," McElroy said. "We had planned on taking a look at our municipal codes, building codes, development codes and our zoning codes. More than likely there will be recommendations for amending those to be more accommodating for EV infrastructure to get it installed throughout the community."

With enough infrastructure in place, meaning an increased number of charging stations, McElroy can foresee businesses and local governments buying more electric vehicles — either all-electric or gas/electric hybrids.

"I can see a business investing in a couple of EVs just to see how they compare. From a municipal standpoint, we have garbage trucks, code inspector vehicles, police cruisers. We have a significant fleet within our municipal operations (and) I think it makes sense to experiment and discover for which department it might make the most sense," he said.

McElroy himself does not own an EV but said he hopes to get one in the future.

Availability

Ford Groves in Cape Girardeau has sold six electric vehicles this year, all of them the 2021 Mustang Mach E — "E" for electric.

A spokesman for the dealership told the Southeast Missourian the car is made in Mexico and retails for $52,240. An extended drive time battery adds $4,000 to the cost.

Ford is expected to come out with an all-electric truck, to be called the F-250 Lightning, he added.

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