Blog: City Blog

KUB Adds Public EV Chargers on S. Central Street

Drivers of electric vehicles visiting downtown now have more charging options.

KUB EV charger on S. Central Street

In October 2024, KUB opened four new public EV fast-charging stations on S. Central Street. These new chargers – and five at a Food City in Seymour – fill key alternative fuel corridor gaps on I-75 and Route 441.

Both stations are part of the Fast Charge Tennessee Network, a partnership between the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), and Seven States Power Corporation. These charging stations are the 99th and 100th to open as part of the partnership.

Each charger can deliver up to 150 kilowatts(kW) per vehicle for 0.40 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). A full charge typically takes 30 minutes or less depending on the vehicle.

“Supporting the adoption of electric vehicles is a major component of KUB’s sustainability efforts. We are grateful for the partnerships we have that address barriers to EV adoption,” KUB President and CEO Gabriel J. Bolas II said. “These partnerships make our work toward a more sustainable future even easier, and we’re thrilled to see new public charging stations filling those fuel corridor gaps.”

KUB’s Promenade garage in downtown Knoxville also has four Level 2 charging stations for public use. The City of Knoxville currently offers 36 Level 2 EV charging ports throughout the city.

“We are so grateful to KUB for the addition of four new electric charging stations downtown,” Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon said. “This investment goes hand-in-hand with the City’s sustainability efforts, and will help us attain a cleaner, greener Knoxville.”

Fast Charge Tennessee aims to make driving EVs easier for EV drivers by installing charging stations every 50 miles along Tennessee’s interstates and major highways. Approximately 50 new charging locations will go along prioritized corridor infrastructure gaps, tripling Tennessee’s existing fast charging network.

The benefits that these EVs bring to the Tennessee Valley region are significant:

• Reducing carbon emissions from gasoline vehicles by almost 1 million metric tons per year or the equivalent of the carbon sequestered by 1 million acres of U.S. forests in one year
• Reinvesting $120 million in the local economy every year from electric refueling
• Saving drivers up to $1,000 in fuel and maintenance costs every year

For more information about KUB’s environmental efforts, visit www.KUB.org/Green.

Posted by ptravis On 23 October, 2024 at 10:55 AM