MISSOULA — More than 600 electric vehicles are registered in Missoula County, comprising around 5.5% of every 1,000 people. But accommodating those drivers while preparing for growth within the EV industry remains a work in progress.
The City of Missoula this week unveiled a draft of its new Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan. Two years in the making, the product covers a range of strategies focused on both infrastructure and education.
The plan is set for adoption later this summer, according to Devin Filicicchia, the city's electrification specialist.
“We want EV supply equipment be easy to implement,” he said. “We're looking at land-use regulations, permitting and ordinances to ensure they're not a cumbersome hurdle when someone's thinking about purchase an EV or instilling a charger.”
Montana has one of the lowest EV adoption rates in the country, though the number of electric vehicles on the road is slowly increasing. Statewide, EV registrations nearly doubled in 2023, though pickup trucks still represent around 35% of all registered vehicles.
But that hasn't deterred those looking to move away from combustible engines and go electric. Participants in a recent open house held around the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan mapped their preferred locations for EV charging stations.
Filicicchia said the results weren't a big surprise.
“Many of the locations that people plotted as high-priority areas are areas with high dwell times – or places where people spend a lot of time – and close to businesses or other community centers,” he said. “We're not using it as the end-all-be-all where charging should be located, but it's a helpful start.”
According to the plan, roughly 17 fast DC charging ports were mapped within the Metropolitan Planning Area. Combining that with other data will help inform future action, including the placement of charging stations.
As it stands, Filicicchia said the city can work to simplify the adoption of EV infrastructure and outline goals around public-private partnerships. Future land-use regulations will recognize EV infrastructure needs. Other regulations, such as “across sidewalk” charging and any role local government can play in enhancing EV use, will also be explored, he said.
“We're hoping to layer more data and what the public thinks is important, and create a priority map,” said Filicicchia. “Because we want to see more charging on private land, one of the key strategies will be reaching out to entitles where people want to see charging.”
The state in 2023 adopted its own Montana Alternative Fuel Corridors, identifying Interstates 90 and 15 as corridors, along with Highway 93 and Highway 2. Given that 40% of Missoula's greenhouse gas emissions stem of tailpipes, the city sees growth in the EV market as powerful tool in addressing climate change at the local level.
The plan also calls on the city “to lead by example,” which includes increasing the city's own EV fleet. Filicicchia said the city has roughly 463 vehicles in its fleet, including 11 fully electric, five plug-in hybrid and 42 conventional hybrid vehicles.
Growing those numbers remains challenging, he said.
“I think the development for charging infrastructure for fleet vehicles is the biggest challenges,” he said. “Fleet vehicles are parked at a variety of locations, and many of these facilities are facing changes or a move in the coming years. A comprehensive fleet charging plan is necessary to support future electrification.”
While the future of EV tax credits and other incentives remains uncertain under the Trump administration, industry growth is expected to continue. According to the International Energy Agency, the number of EVs in the U.S. is estimated to reach 27 million by 2030 and 92 million by 2040.
Filicicchia said the city is looking at the University of Montana as a model to enhance its own EV infrastructure plan.
“The university has been a close partner, because they're a great example of providing a lot of workplace charging,” he said. “They have multiple charging locations across campus, and we can receive that data to see what that charging usage looks like.”
Areas identified as Phase 1 of the city's Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan are slated for achievement by 2027. Phase 2 categories lie further down the road.
“This is a plan we're excited to see carried out” said Filicicchia.
