Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has a plan to have 1 million electric vehicles registered in the state by 2030. It's an ambitious, which will take a $48 million investment. But officials say demand is high.
Megha Lakhchaura is the state's first ever Electric Vehicle Coordinator. She told KMOX that it's an exciting space to be in, and that a lot of money and resources are being put toward electric vehicles.
"We have incentives from at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to support electric vehicle infrastructure. We have utilities that have submitted plans for almost $310 million in the last two weeks," Lackhchaura said. "And in my job, I see how all of these work together. What are the deficiencies? How do we use the resources to the best level?"
And most importantly, she looks at how to get the most electric vehicles out on the road.
Lakhchaura said Illinois has nearly 44,000 electric vehicles on the road right now. It'll take a while to reach the goal of 1 million, but she's hopeful.
"But the good news is that we have been adding vehicles quite rapidly this year," she said. "Almost 7,000 new EVs came on the streets in the first six months."
The state also recently added an EPA rebate, where people can get $4,000 for buying an electric vehicle.
Lakhchaura said the demand for electric vehicles in Illinois is particularly high.
"Demand has far outstripped supply at this point of time. And people are on waiting list to get electric vehicles," she said. "So the cost of gas, along with the government incentives, have created this interest. And of course, once you go electric, you don't want to go back to internal combustion engines."
