DAYTON — Ohio is leading the nation in new ways to charge electric vehicles.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6, ahead of Thanksgiving, Drive Ohio has opened seven new electric charging stations across the state.
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In 2022, $7.5 billion was approved to bring half a million EV charging stations by 2030.
Since then, 13 built-in Ohio since last year make up nearly half of the progress nationwide.
An interactive map shows where the chargers are located.
The closest active charging station to Dayton is Eaton.
Charlie, a Dayton resident, said he is not in favor of more chargers.
“It’s putting a strain on the power grids. So I don’t think quite there yet,” he said.
Seven of the 13 chargers in Ohio just opened in recent weeks to help holiday drivers with the holiday rush.
DriveOhio said each station can charge four cars at a time and produce a full charge in 30 minutes.
“In my apartment complex, we have some chargers there. I never once in five years have seen a car parked there,” Charlie said.
The state has already received more than $40 million and expects to get more than triple the amount by 2026.
Some neighbors said they’re confused about why this is a priority for the state.
“I haven’t seen a whole lot of full-on electric vehicles,” Charlie said.
DriveOhio said they have received more than 128 requests for the next round of stations.
They will be finalizing those locations in the coming months.
We will continue to update this story.
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