As the Southeast continues to draw in electric vehicle and battery manufacturers, Tennessee ranks near the top of the list for anticipated jobs and investment, according to a new report examining electric transportation in the region.
But despite seeing the highest rate of growth in publicly accessible electric vehicle chargers — rapid charging ports increased 60% over last year in Tennessee — the state still lags well behind national and regional figures for chargers per person.
The report was the fifth annual study prepared by Washington, D.C.-based data analysis firm Atlas Public Policy for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a renewable energy advocacy nonprofit. It explores the momentum of the electric transportation industry in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Those six states have more than 100 facilities dedicated to electric vehicle and battery manufacturing, making up 31% of the 238,000 EV jobs announced in the U.S. as of June. Of $205 billion in announced investments in the EV industry in the United States, 38% will land in the Southeast region, according to the report.
Georgia ranks highest in the region with 27,394 total anticipated EV manufacturing jobs, with Tennessee’s 16,164 expected jobs coming in second.