Tennessee Awards $21M In Federal Funds For EV Chargers
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The Center Square [By Jon Styf] –
Tennessee has awarded $21 million in federal funds to build electric vehicle charging stations in the state.
Of the 167 applications from 23 applicants, Tennessee will award 10 of them grants to build 30 new charging stations across the state.
Tennessee will be receiving $88 million in federal funding over five years for the project. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program requires companies match with at least 20% of the federal funding.
Private funding amounts to 32% of this portion of the grants, making the total investment $31 million between federal and private funds.
The fast-charging stations are required to be located every 50 miles along the federally designated Alternative Fuel Corridor, within a mile of the corridor and have a minimum of four charging ports.
“Tennessee has been home to the automotive industry since the 1980s and those automakers are growing electric vehicle manufacturing,” Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Butch Eley said in a statement. “With these federal dollars, Tennessee is investing in its future and paving the way to lead the nation as an EV epicenter. We want to ensure that drivers in any vehicle can safely get across the state from Mountain City to Memphis.”
The funding comes through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. TDOT said that it hopes to have the EV charging stations active within two years.
“Today’s announcement builds on the Administration’s promise to deliver a national network of 500,000 publicly available EV chargers by 2030 – a goal we’re on track to achieve,” Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said in a statement.
About the Author: Jon Styf, The Center Square Staff Reporter – Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies. Follow Jon on Twitter @JonStyf.
If I’m not mistaken the Chargers have to have electricity to charge them. What planet are these people born on? These chargers will use more electricity than our grid can service.
Thank goodness the auto manufacturers are not stop making these cars.
Tennesseans are not in control of Tennessee government.
At the same time TVA/AEP are putting in coal-powered car chargers, they are sending out notices that they have insufficient power to run your heat in the winter.
“…and those automakers are growing electric vehicle manufacturing,”
Eley is full of it. Ford, who Lockdown Lee and the Republican supermajority gave nearly a billion dollars (that we know of), has announced cutting the coal-powered car production in half! They don’t even need the Blue Oval City – because they are cutting production. HALF OF FORD DEALERS WON’T SELL THEM. Another TNGOP corporate welfare boondoggle.
“Ford plans to cut production of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck once again, it said Friday, citing a problem nearly all automakers have struggled with in the past year: falling demand.”
https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-cuts-electric-f-150-lightning-production-affecting-jobs-2024-1
“Just over half of Ford’s nearly 3,000 dealerships in the US have opted out of the investments necessary to sell electric vehicles like the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-e, Ford says. ”
https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-dealers-dont-want-to-sell-electric-cars-trucks-2023-12
What a Total waste of Tax Money. TVA and others can’t even promise to keep power on during a very cold spell or heat wave or rolling blackout. What about some road paving projects! Something that has a future and benefits for the public.
WASTE!! ROBBERY!! Our Benton County electric manager told of seeing 2 cars and a truck charging at a station using the electricity of 24 houses.
Can you say, Solyndra?