RICHMOND, Ky. (WKYT) - There was a bit of extra buzz around the Circle K off I-75 Exit 87 in Richmond this Monday as crews broke ground on a new electric vehicle charging station.
“Here in Kentucky, we are supercharging our economy, and supercharging our future,” Gov. Andy Beshear proclaimed. Ev Chargers Rated
It marks the first EV charging station in the southeastern U.S. to be built through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program. Kentucky will receive $70 million from the program through the bipartisan infrastructure law.
“I-75 is a key corridor - not just for Kentucky, but for the country,” said Shailen Bhatt, who heads the Federal Highway Administration. “Three percent of the nation’s GDP crosses the Brent Spence Bridge. This is a strategic location for chargers.”
The sight of these charging stations will soon become a lot more familiar for Kentucky’s travelers, as that federal funding is going to support 40 fast-charging stations. 24 of them are expected to break ground this year.
“These fast-charging stations will allow families to easily charge as they travel into or through our great state,” said Gov. Beshear. “Through $70 million through our federal program, we are building charging stations along 11 interstates and eight parkways.”
This movement in Kentucky’s first phase of building an EV network comes as Republican lawmakers filed a bill to protect retail filling stations. Attorney General Russell Coleman has also joined 20 other states to sue Bhatt and the Biden administration over federal emissions rules.
Governor Beshear says the commonwealth should support traditional automobiles, while also remaining open to the future of EVs.
“This is an industry that, for decades to come, there’s going to be a lot of options in,” Gov. Beshear said. “If we’re going to be the automotive leader, we need to make sure we lead in each and every one of them.”
Berea, Winchester and London have also been awarded charging stations in this first phase. At Monday’s groundbreaking, Gov. Beshear opened up a new request for proposals to develop 16 more sites that will fill out this network, aiming to have them all done by 2025.
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