Press Mention Savannah Morning News November 15, 2023
SACE Quoted
Grant aims to plug underserved Black communities into electric transportation
In this mention
A $1.2 million U.S. Department of Energy grant supports a collaboration between SACE, EVNoire, and Clean Cities Georgia to bring equitable electric vehicle access to underserved Black communities in Atlanta, Savannah, and Albany. Stan Cross, SACE's electric transportation policy director, emphasizes the initiative's focus on community-driven priorities and job training in Georgia's growing EV sector.
Our work aims to put communities in the driver's seat to ensure this landmark federal funding reaches them and is implemented in ways that address the mobility needs and priorities they have identified
Stan Cross
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AUTOMOTIVE
Grant aims to plug underserved Black communities into electric transportation
John Deem
Savannah Morning News
Updated Nov. 16, 2023, 7:38 a.m. ET
Upfront cost continues to be a roadblock in Georgia's shift to electric vehicles.
That's especially true in low-income communities of color, even though those areas could benefit from emissions-free transportation options.
With a $1.2 million U.S. Department of Energy grant, a trio of advocacy groups aims to ensure that underserved Black communities in Atlanta, Savannah and Albany plug into available federal funds to support "equitable, accessible, electric mobility initiatives."
Collaborators target EV grant funds toward Black communities
The federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act set aside hundreds of billions of dollars for initiatives aimed at reducing heat-trapping pollution created by the burning of fossil fuels.
"Our work aims to put communities in the driver's seat to ensure this landmark federal funding reaches them and is implemented in ways that address the mobility needs and priorities they have identified," said Stan Cross, electric transportation policy director at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
SACE is partnering with electric-mobility organizations EVNoire and Clean Cities Georgia to implement the three-year project.
The groups were deliberate in choosing three distinct sites for their work: Atlanta, Georgia's largest city; Savannah, a smaller urban center; and Albany, in the rural southwest corner of the state. "We'll be working with Black communities in very different places with very different needs and priorities," Cross said.
The partners are working directly with local governments in the three areas to determine those needs and priorities.Alicia Brown, Savannah's acting director of sustainability, noted that the city already has been looking at ways to employ electric vehicles in underserved areas.
"(Savannah) tried on two separate occasions to fund an EV carshare program to help residents in food deserts access healthy food, but we just haven't found the right funding source yet," she said. "We did community engagement on the idea and had very positive reception, so I'm hoping 2024 is the year. Hopefully Hyundai locating nearby can create new opportunities."
Hyundai Motor Group's $7.6 billion EV and battery plant under construction in Bryan County is contributing to an economic-development surge that has made Georgia the Southeast's leader in electric-vehicle related employment (about 28,000 jobs) and investment ($20.4 billion), according to SACE.
The new grant-funded collaboration also will involve working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities – including Savannah State – and the Technical Community College System of Georgia "to identify job skill gaps and ensure communities have access to the job training needed to participate in the state's booming electric transportation sector."
Cross said the partners have no preconceived notions about where their work will lead.
"There's never been anything like this and there's no roadmap for it," he added.
John Deem covers climate change and the environment in coastal Georgia. He can be reached at jdeem@gannett.com.