Georgia has secured more than $27 billion in electric-vehicle and battery manufacturing investments – more than any other state. But a new year-end report from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Atlas Public Policy finds the state lags in one key area: making it easy for Georgians to actually own and charge EVs.

Stan Cross, the alliance's electric transportation director, said there's a disconnect.

"A lot of work has been done to attract business to the state," he said, "but not a lot of work has been done to set conditions that make it easy for Georgians to own EVs and have the charging infrastructure deployed that they need."

Georgia ranks first in the Southeast for EV manufacturing, but EV sales lag the national average at just 8.2%. The state also saw $1 billion in cancellations last year.

Cross said attracting factories isn't enough if residents can't easily charge at home or on the road. Despite policy uncertainty and some manufacturing cancellations, he said, Georgia has built a sophisticated approach to competing globally.

"Georgia has done an incredible job at attracting manufacturing investment and creating job opportunities," he said. "The state has demonstrated a really sophisticated approach to being competitive on a global stage for bringing in the manufacturers, many of whom are international companies."

The Georgia Public Service Commission approved a $52 million "Make Ready" program and a $6 million Community Charging Program to expand EV charging access. Georgia Power will also launch a new Vehicle-to-Everything electric school bus pilot.

Source: Public News Service