The state of Kentucky will be eligible for more than $10 million in grant funding from the US Department of Transportation for this fiscal year — in order to deploy electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the Commonwealth.
In a Thursday announcement, Governor Andy Beshear noted the money stems from a section of the $5 billion available to the country over the next five years under the new federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program — and it’s something the state’s leaders should consider following Ford’s recent investment into Kentucky and Tennessee for electric vehicle production.
Projects that qualify for this funding include:
■ The acquisition and installation of EV charging infrastructure, to serve as a catalyst for the deployment of such infrastructure and to connect it to a network to facilitate data collection, access and reliability;
■ Proper operation and maintenance of EV charging infrastructure;
■ And data sharing about EV charging infrastructure to ensure the long-term success of investments.
Beshear’s budget proposal includes $100 million alone to begin building an electric vehicle charging station infrastructure for Kentucky, which uses $30.5 million from the General Fund and should unlock another $70 million in federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
In just the last two months, South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council Executive Director Carter Hendricks and his staff announced their “Charged & Ready” initiative for Trigg, Christian and Todd counties — in what was a congruous signal alerting advisors of this area’s preparedness for electric vehicle infrastructure, and electric vehicle production.
The tri-county’s automotive industry remains one of its stronger pillars of labor, and Hendricks iterated in the last EDC meeting that five charging stations across Cadiz, Hopkinsville and Elkton could be the beginning of west Kentucky’s EV skeleton.
