Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
The Ray urges use of interstate right‑of‑way for solar, EV charging and faster transmission to support resilience and economic sites
Summary
The Ray told the committee that interstate right‑of‑way can host solar, EV charging and transmission build‑outs more quickly and with lower permitting and land costs than greenfield sites, and described modeling tools and pilot projects on I‑85 the nonprofit developed with GDOT and federal partners.
Ali Kelly, executive director of The Ray, told the House Economic Development & Tourism Committee that the nonprofit has used an 18‑mile I‑85 corridor in west Georgia to pilot infrastructure projects — from solar‑powered electric‑vehicle charging to connected‑vehicle striping and rubber‑modified pavement — and that the corridor work is intended to scale nationally.
Kelly said The Ray was founded after the 2015 General Assembly memorial designation of 18 miles of I‑85 as the Ray Anderson Memorial Highway, and that the nonprofit has leveraged partnerships with the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to bring demonstration projects to the corridor.
"We have leveraged our philanthropy to bring 14 infrastructure projects to that 18 mile corridor," Kelly said, describing projects that include the state’s early solar‑powered EV chargers, connected‑vehicle pilots, a rubber‑modified asphalt demonstration…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
