The Kentucky General Assembly is working to modify state spending for the creation of a network of electric vehicle charging stations. It’s not expected to slow down the effort to power up more highway-adjacent hookups.
The House has acted to remove just over $17 million from the EV charging station project and use that money to cover increased expenses for the construction of a veterans' center in Bowling Green.
The aim is for private contractors to pick up a share of the cost of establishing more than 30 new charging stations first along Kentucky interstates and parkways.
Kentucky Transportation Secretary Jim Gray said the changes in the automotive industry are monumental.
“This is the most significant change in the automotive industry since the automobile itself was invented and production began in the early part of the 20th century,” said Gray.
Gray hopes the new fast-charging stations will be online by the end of this year or early next year.
While existing auto-manufacturing plants like Ford and Toyota will see assembly modifications in the future, Jim Gray noted it may not stop there.
“Oh I wouldn’t just envision it, I would say that it’s almost a certainty that you’re going to have additional plants built. Kentucky is the number one, per capita, builder of automobiles, trucks and automobiles in the country today, per capita.”
Plans call for establishing fast-charging powering stations along Kentucky’s interstates and parkways initially. Gray hopes that can be accomplished over the next year or so. The transportation secretary said the effort would then shift to more rural secondary roads and destinations.
