Many people gathered Thursday morning, Sept. 24, to celebrate a ribbon-cutting for two new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at East Moline Public Library, 745 16th Ave., East Moline.
The chargers are located on the east side of the library parking lot, led by MetroLINK, the mass transit agency for Rock Island County. MetroLINK secured grant funding through Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), and East Moline is the first of four planned charging stations in the Illinois Quad Cities – a $1-million-plus investment, partnering with local, state and federal entities.
The library was selected as an ideal downtown location where electric vehicle (EV) drivers can use library amenities or visit nearby businesses while their vehicles charge, supporting economic development.
The chargers, which can charge four vehicles simultaneously, have been available to the public since June and have already supported nearly 100 charging sessions.
As Level Three chargers, they offer the fastest and most powerful form of EV charging available. Designed for commercial settings and particularly useful for travelers making longer trips, Level Three chargers can typically add 100 to 250+ miles of range in 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the vehicle and charging conditions.
This provides a substantially faster option than Level 2 chargers, which typically add just 10-60 miles of range per hour.
MetroLINK CEO Ben Limmer spoke Thursday of the many benefits of the charging stations.
“Mobility, of course, is changing, and it's changing fast. And our role, of course, is to change with it,” he said. “We want to make sure MetroLINK is looking beyond the transportation needs of today and helping prepare our entire region for the future. That means investing in not only our buses and the Channel Cat ferries, but also an infrastructure that supports the way people will travel tomorrow.
“This is what makes this particular project so exciting. These chargers provide another transportation option for residents and visitors, but they do a whole lot more,” he said. “They bring people into East Moline. So while their vehicles are charging here, which by the way, they're about 20 times faster than your average car charger. They can visit the library, support local businesses, grab a meal, or simply enjoy the community.
“This project is also part of a much larger MetroLINK investment. We are installing these public electric vehicle chargers at four locations throughout the Illinois Quad Cities, representing more than $1 million in combined capital investment using a combination of local, state, and federal resources.”
“At MetroLINK, it's all about leveraging those resources and building partnerships to create the most value beyond our traditional transit services,” Limmer said. “We're very proud of our history of embracing cleaner transportation technology. For more than 25 years, MetroLINK has been seen in alternative fuel transportation. Actually, today our bus fleet includes both compressed natural gas as well as battery electric buses, and we continue to look for opportunities to make transportation more sustainable in our region, more connected.
“So today we, of course, are not just celebrating these two chargers, we're celebrating partnership, investment, and progress,” he added. “We're proud to partner with the East Moline Public Library and our elected leaders to bring this project to life, and we're excited to see how it serves this community as well as all the rest of the communities throughout the Quad Cities going forward. “
“Public charging infrastructure is about more than preparing for the continued growth of electric vehicles -- it is also an economic development tool,” Limmer said. “By placing fast chargers in the heart of downtown East Moline, we can bring people into the area and give them a reason to explore the library, visit nearby businesses and spend time in the community while their vehicles charge. It is a practical investment that supports mobility, local commerce and the region’s long-term competitiveness.”
“We do see MetroLINK as an all-encompassing transportation provider. Our job is to provide citizens as well as visitors throughout the Quad Cities a choice -- whether it's riding the bus, hopping on the Channel Cat, or exploring all the other transportation options throughout the Quad Cities,” he said after the ribbon-cutting. “And certainly providing EV charging facilities is part of that whole transportation ecosystem, so we're excited about it.”
“All-encompassing innovation is within our DNA as an agency,” Limmer noted. “We are very forward-looking, so we're always exploring, piloting new transportation solutions to really help people get from point A to point B, not only now but in the future and for generations to come. And these charging facilities are exactly that.”
Transit agencies nationwide support such environmentally friendly policies, he said.
“In order to thrive in the future, they need to be more than just providing bus and rail and ferry services. They really need to be full-blown mobility providers, and we're doing exactly that,” Limmer said.
A Congressman gets a Bolt of energy
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Moline) charged his Chevy Bolt EV Thursday morning at the library lot in just 15 minutes.
“I travel overseas and I represent Illinois 17 in our country, and in every country that I go to, I see more and more electric vehicles on the road,” he said. “That is the future of transportation. So having all of the above approach is so important. But also we're setting the stage for what we're going to need here in East Moline in the future.”
“I use these because if in my home I plug it into the 3-prong plug. But in my home, if I don't have enough miles to get up to Rockford in my district, I gotta charge somewhere,” Sorensen noted. “So I'm going to charge here. You will see your Congressman charging right here. One of the things also that we're going to be able to do is welcome people off of the interstate. We in the Quad Cities, we're so blessed to be right at that spot where I-80 crosses the Mississippi River.
“This gives us another reason to get people to take the exit, to come here and see what we're all about. Because they're driving across country in an EV, they may say, OK, well, the next charging station is in Iowa City,” he said. “Why don't we stop in East Moline? And when they pull off and they plug in their car, they're going to go find a coffee. They're going to use the Wi-Fi in the library. Or they're going to get a meal over here. This is about access.
“When we electrify vehicles, we make better decisions, not just for the environment, but for all of us,” Sorensen added. “These chargers are bringing people here to downtown East Moline, and as we invest in East Moline, we make sure that we're putting our infrastructure not just for this generation, for the next.”
Partnering with the state and city
“As we look forward, I'm excited about everything that MetroLINK has to offer, the way that it is going to be partnering with cities like East Moline, and others here in the Quad Cities, so that this is not the culmination,” State Sen. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island) said Thursday. “It's a culmination of one project, but it's really the beginning of what's yet to come. Now, I'm excited to be able to represent the state of Illinois and share this with you. CEJA is in full swing, and we're going to make sure it continues working for the people of the Quad Cities here in Illinois.”
The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) was first passed in 2021, aiming to make Illinois’ energy sector 100% carbon‑free by 2045 while ensuring equitable economic benefits across the state. The program has approved $57 million in grants so far, part of the law’s broader investment in clean energy infrastructure, workforce training, and community resilience.
It also provides a $4,000 rebate for consumers purchasing EVs, and is supporting a statewide charging network.
“It’s essentially to continue the transition away from fossil fuels and encourage more renewable resources,” Halpin said after the ribbon-cutting. “And there's a grant program for electrification or renewable energy infrastructure.”
CEJA in general is much broader than focusing on EVs, he noted. “So it encompasses regulations on coal plants, future natural gas plants. CEJA is like a big picture legislation.”
“It's that first step in building infrastructure to encourage further EV use, which benefits not just the environment, but it also benefits the tourism industry because there are people that travel in EV vehicles and they look for and need a place to stop,” Halpin said of such charging station. “So it will help local businesses, help drivers that already own EV vehicles. It'll help people that are interested in investing in an EV vehicle, and then it helps the environment.”
“Over time the idea is to have these as often as necessary and as many locations as necessary as more and more people transition to an electric vehicle,” he said.
The sales of hybrid (gas and electric) and battery-powered electric vehicles have boomed nationwide in recent years. Hybrid sales skyrocketed from about 400,000 in 2018 to over 2 million in 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. EV sales have jumped from just 200,000 in 2018 to about 1.25 million in 2025 (out of a total of nearly 16 million new car and truck sales).
The average sale price of EVs is much higher than a hybrid, according to electroiq.com. EVs have an average figure cited at about $58,940, while standard hybrids average $32,975.
“Electric vehicle chargers can benefit cities by making it easier for residents and visitors to use electric cars while supporting cleaner transportation and local economic activity,” East Moline Mayor Reggie Freeman said.
“Public chargers can help people who can't charge at home, including renters and visitors. Drivers may spend time, money, and nearby with their vehicle chargers while their vehicles are charging. More EV use can lower local exhaust emissions, especially along with busy streets. Installing chargers helps cities accomplish rising EV use and meet transportation and create climate goods.”
Libraries grow to serve needs
“As communities grow and change, public libraries are always looking for ways to better meet the needs of their communities by providing a variety of services in addition to maintaining a healthy collection of materials to borrow and offering diverse types of programming for all ages,” East Moline library director Bianca Sierra said at the event.
“We are thrilled to add EV charging to our growing list of services available at the East Moline Public Library,” she said. “Our library is a place for everyone, and we look forward to serving the growing community of individuals who drive electric and hybrid vehicles.”
The future Metro EV charging stations will be placed at The Bend in East Moline, and two in downtown Moline – at 17th Street and River Drive (near the Visit Quad Cities visitor center), and The Q (near Centre Station and the future passenger rail station).
“We're going to be deploying them over the next several months, but looking to get them finished as quickly as possible,” Limmer said of new stations. “The one at The Bend is going to take a little bit longer because the surface parking lot is not there yet, but we are looking to break ground on that project in the coming weeks.”
The East Moline Library installation is part of MetroLINK’s broader work to leverage utility-grid investments supporting its bus infrastructure to support EV adoption, strengthen businesses and enhance the QC’s appeal to travelers who need reliable public charging options. Users may locate this site on multiple EV charging mobile apps, or through the Department of Energy.
More locations throughout the Illinois QC will be considered, Limmer said.
Since 2002, Metro has been a leader in alternative fuel technology with the introduction of fixed-route buses powered by compressed natural gas to its fleet. Today, the agency operates a 100% eco-friendly fleet comprised of compressed natural gas and electric buses.
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