It’s in the infancy stage, but the “Charged & Ready” initiative set forth by leadership of the South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council is starting to take its first steps into the business world.
Earlier this week during its monthly conclave, SWK EDC Executive Director Carter Hendricks noted that “extremely preliminary” plans for a network of five fast-charging electric vehicle power stations have been sent to the Tennessee Valley Authority — in what Hendricks said was a small blueprint that could align with TVA’s structure.
These five stations would be aligned every 50 miles or so, Hendricks said, in order to assuage “range anxiety” — something electric car and truck drivers often feel when their batteries are low.
The plan, eventually, would be to create multiple fast-charging stations for these electric types of vehicles. Hendricks said, however, that can’t begin until an initial skeletal structure is put into place.
The five initial locations being submitted include the Cadiz Chamber & Tourism Office near Montgomery, the Oak Grove Tourism Office, the Trail of Tears Visitor Center in Hopkinsville, downtown Elkton, and an upgrade of the slow-charging station already located in downtown Hopkinsville — a place Hendricks said he’s recently seen in use.
While the traveling and consumer element of the “Charged & Ready” initiative is underway, that’s not the only part of the puzzle. Hendricks said preliminary discussions are also occurring in regards to the training possibilities of the tri-county’s automotive workforce.
The Trigg County, Christian County, Todd County locale lies directly between Ford Motor Company’s massive investments in central Kentucky and near Memphis, totaling more than $11 billion in electric vehicle production promises.
The “Charged & Ready” Initiative was created as a signal flare for prospective industries to notify officials of the area’s industrial preparedness for this particular job market.
