Federal funding looks to promote equity in Georgia’s growing electric transit industry

New federal funding aims to ensure Black Georgians have equal access to the state's growing electric transportation sector. The three-year grant from the U.S Department of Energy will focus on Albany, Atlanta, and Savannah.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy will work with local organizations such as EV Noire and Clean Cities Georgia to research community needs and find solutions.

Stan Cross is the Electric Transportation Policy Director for the Southern Alliance. He said the goal is to bridge the gap between federal funds and community priorities.

“These communities lack access to electric mobility infrastructure to support the transition to electric transportation," Cross said, "and often these communities lack access to the jobs that are coming from this transition.”

Georgia leads the Southeast in several metrics in the clean energy sector. Cross said that data is part of the reason SACE chose to start its work here.

“If you're going to be No. 1 in employment, investment, EV sales and charging deployment in the Southeast, then let's make Georgia No. 1 in equitable access to the benefits of electric transportation,” he said.

The project will work with historically Black colleges and universities and trade schools in Georgia to eliminate barriers to access the state's growing electric vehicle economy.