As automakers retool their factories, many of us are going to be driving an electric vehicle (EV) in the next 10 years. To make sure seven Southern states are ready, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is accelerating the deployment of EV fast chargers through regional and national partnerships.
TVA and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation are partnering to fund and develop a statewide EV fast charging network, with charging stations placed every 50 miles along Tennessee’s interstates and major highways. The goal is to have the chargers installed by 2026. The funding is distributed through TVA-served local power companies, which are responsible for locating site host customers and owning and operating the EV charging stations.
This initiative anticipates investing $30 million in the network over the next 3-5 years and will add about 50 new charging locations, tripling the existing network of fast charging stations that are open to all customers and that support charging standards common to EVs in Tennessee.
To further support EV travel across every state it serves, TVA is a member of the National Electric Highway Coalition, a collaboration of more than 60 investor-owned and municipal electric companies and electric cooperatives across the nation supporting the deployment of EV fast charging infrastructure across their service territories. TVA, in partnership with local power companies, has already started the deployment of the Fast Charge Network in Alabama and Kentucky.
TVA also is demonstrating the benefits of electric transportation by electrifying its own fleet, and intends to add nearly 1,200 light- and medium-duty EVs and more than 600 additional charging stations at key TVA locations.
As gas-powered vehicles reach the end of their life cycles, TVA has committed to replacing them with new EVs, and estimates that EVs will equal half of the overall TVA fleet by 2030.
Additionally, TVA is expanding existing programs to encourage employees to use EVs, including its ValleyRide program, which allows employees to rent a zero-emission vehicle from TVA for business travel.
To learn more about the benefits of switching to electric vehicles, visit TVA’s EnergyRight website.
