Fort Leonard Wood, a U.S. Army base in Missouri, is installing its first electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in partnership with Laclede Electric Cooperative.
The initial seven stations will be used to charge an EV fleet that will eventually replace all non-tactical government-owned vehicles on the base, as part of an Army directive in line with Presidential Executive Order 14057, which requires the Department of Defense to transition its non-tactical vehicles to a 100 percent zero-emission fleet.
The military base aims to gradually electrify its fleet of around 540 non-tactical vehicles by fiscal year 2026. It has already taken delivery of two electric cargo vans and 14 more EVs are expected to arrive by the end of 2023.
“The full conversion to EVs will be gradual. Gasoline-fuel vehicles will exist alongside the new EVs until the conversion is fully complete,” said Jeannie Belew of Fort Leonard Wood’s Directorate of Public Works.
The charging stations being installed are Level Two chargers, which use a 240-volt power supply and can add 10 to 20 miles of range to a light-duty EV per hour of charging time. The plan involves providing two designated parking spaces near each station, which can charge a maximum of two vehicles at a time.
Under the agreement, Laclede will own, operate and maintain the charging stations at the base for a monthly fee.
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Laclede Electric Cooperative is an electric distribution cooperative providing power to more than 37,000 locations in Camden, Dallas, Laclede, Pulaski, Webster & Wright Counties of Missouri.
The U.S. Army training base also is undertaking some energy transition projects including work on a new on a central power utility plant, emergency back-up generators and other infrastructure.
The construction also will include a 235,400 square-foot hospital, a 193,300 square-foot clinic, a five-bay ambulance garage, helipad and supporting facilities, Fort Leonard Wood announced in August.
The energy initiatives already in place or underway at the installation are a Propane-Air Mixing Plant and the two combined heat and power plants. The Propane-Air Mixing Plant makes synthetic natural gas, which will come handy in the event of a natural gas failure or when natural gas prices are high.
