ATLANTA, GA – April 23, 2025 – The Ray is pleased to announce the release of its annual report—State of The Ray 2024—highlighting several monumental achievements over the past year through partnerships from coast to coast, including millions of dollars in grant funding awarded to 15 underserved communities.
In 2023, The Ray was named a capacity builder by the U.S. Department of Transportation for the new Thriving Communities Program. The organization was awarded $5.1 million alongside partners Arcadis, InfraStrategies, and Beverly Scott Associates to advance transportation projects that support economic development, mobility and safety. By the close of 2024, the Thriving Communities Program successfully leveraged its initial investment into $180.1 million in total grant awards, achieving a 35x return rate.
The Ray expanded its Natural Capital Program through impactful partnerships with Kia Georgia, Ryder, and Goodyear, using the Landscape Lab along The Ray Highway as a dynamic, living laboratory. This initiative highlights the transformative potential of regenerative roadside vegetation to deliver critical ecosystem services, including improved stormwater management, pollution remediation, habitat conservation, and carbon sequestration.
With generous support from the Horne Family Foundation, vibrant pollinator meadows at exits 6 and 14, as well as the Georgia Visitor Information Center, demonstrate how native wildflowers, grasses, and groundcovers can reimagine roadside landscapes nationwide. These meadows offer measurable ecological and economic value. Enhancements to The Ray’s monitoring capabilities, in collaboration with PheNode, and a new right-of-way suitability tool are advancing efforts to strategically implement pollinator habitats, stabilize slopes, and manage natural stormwater flow more effectively.
Furthermore, The Ray’s GIS team, in partnership with Esri and state Department of Transportation (DOT) agencies, identified 847,669 suitable acres for solar right-of-way (ROW) installation. This can be converted into 169,938 megawatts (MW) of energy and 269,320,526 megawatt-hours per year (MWh/yr). The estimated energy value is astounding—more than $32.8 trillion annually with a carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) of 191,386,682 metric tons.
The Ray is actively advancing transmission infrastructure planning through strategic partnerships with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) “Moonshot” program, the Transmission Siting and Economic Development (TSED) project, and state DOTs. Using The Ray’s innovative transmission analysis tool, viable ROW land is being identified for the strategic planning of new underground and overhead transmission lines to support a resilient energy future.
Lastly, The Ray partnered with Renaissance94—a global social impact consultancy advancing climate resilience and a just transition to a sustainable future for all people—led by Daniel Blackman, the former Regional Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Supported by The Ray’s fiscal sponsorship, “Ren94” collaborates across industries to connect leaders from the sports and entertainment sectors with the philanthropic community for convenings, impact initiatives and strategic media campaigns.
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