Image courtesy of outside organization
NORMAL, Ill. – Normal has received a $100,000 grant from Ameren Illinois to expand electric vehicle infrastructure in town.
The grant allows Normal to place more EV chargers, buy new electric government vehicles and conduct outreach regarding EV technology.
Eric Heggie, Normal’s assistant director of facilities management, said that the town is primarily looking to buy new vehicles.
“If we do buy those vehicles, it could potentially show residents we’re taking what we say seriously in regard to sustainability,” said Heggie.
Normal already has a number of EVs, including two Rivian cars and some earlier Mitsubishi models. Heggie says the deal came to fruition through several meetings over the past few months, and was finally sealed recently.
“I’m just grateful that it worked out,” Heggie said. “Hopefully we can utilize the funds appropriately, to the benefit of not only the organization, but the community as a whole.”
This will be useful to the government of Normal, but Heggie also emphasized the ways it will benefit the populace. Local EV owners may be seeing more charging stations popping up in high traffic areas, and more electric vehicles may lead to cleaner air and quieter streets.