LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A growing number of Kentucky churches are being recognized for their efforts to make electric vehicle charging stations more widely available.
Of all the locations you might expect to find an EV charging station, a church parking lot may not be one of them. But after spending just a short time with Ellen Wade, the notion of plugging your car into an EV charger at a local place of worship aligns nicely.
“Many of the churches believe that we need to be good stewards of the Earth,” Wade said. “Presbyterians, as well as the Unitarian Universalists, all believe we have to be good stewards of the Earth and we have to be able to keep it for our grandchildren.”
Wade is a volunteer at All People’s Church in Louisville and a member of Evolve Kentucky, a nonprofit electric vehicle group. Through personal donations and guidance from Evolve, All Peoples installed four EV charging banks at their church.
“My family donated these two chargers here. It was in my aunt’s bequest,” Wade explained.
Stewart Ungar is the founder of Evolve Kentucky. He said the group’s primary goal is just getting EV charging out in the open.
“I don’t think we realized we were going to take the lead in that, and to date, we have 130 chargers that we’ve installed,” Ungar told Spectrum News.
Ungar has helped churches across Louisville install chargers like the one at Highland Presbyterian Church in Louisville.
“The church has been on a journey of trying to do better about our carbon footprint to reduce that wherever we can and to encourage sustainability,” Nolan Huizenga of Highland Presbyterian Church said. Ungar said Evolve has donated thousands of dollars and help allocate grant money to install EV car charges.
John Odom is the General Presbyter for Mid Kentucky Presbytery and sees the noble goal behind expanding EV’s in Kentucky.
“One of the first things that God asked us to do is as a people is to take care of the Earth, and this is one of the active ways we in church can show to our community that we do in fact care for the Earth,” Odom said.
To date, Evolve Kentucky has contributed to charging stations being installed at eight separate church sites in the Louisville area. And you don’t have to be a member to use them.
For their efforts in installing EV chargers Mid Kentucky Presbytery has won a national “Electric Vehicle Leader” award presented by Interfaith Power and Light, one of 18 national runner-up awards.