New Electric Car Charging Station

The College installed a charging station for electric vehicles (EVs) in the parking lot behind Proctor Dining Hall this Nov. The station is a level two charging station that can service two cars at once and charge an EV battery in three to six hours, depending on the EV model and other factors, such as temperature.

Director of Sustainability Integration Jack Byrne helped lead the initiative and said that the increased prevalence and practicality of electric cars made the charging station an important addition.

“We have at least five employees with all electric vehicles and it makes it much more convenient for them to charge their cars while at work when needed,” Byrne said. “It may help other employees in deciding if their next vehicles will be electric knowing that there is a place for them to charge it at work. It also will be used by alumni, parents and students who have EVs. We have had several requests from people in those groups in the past as well.”

The charging station’s installation was a yearlong effort that began in 2014. It was funded by the Environmental Council, which gives grants to student projects. In previous years they have funded the wind turbine at the recycling center, the solar decathlon houses, Earth Day events, the fermenter’s guild, and the organic farm’s initiative to raise chickens.

“The Environmental Council has a grant program that runs the entire academic year,” Byrne said. “People can propose any project that in the broadest sense moves the sustainability agenda forward at The College. They can propose anytime for up to $1,500. For bigger projects you can propose for up to $5,000. We have a deadline Jan. 31 and another Feb. 29. We are just receiving our first batch of them now. We seem to have fewer proposals this year than in previous years. So it’s a good year to propose because the odds are in your favor.”

Ali Cook ’16, who worked on the Environmental Council for two years, came up with the idea for the EV charging station and submitted the proposal to the grant committee.

“There was environmental and compact car parking behind Hillcrest, but we didn’t have a EV charging station,” Cook said. “ I thought this was strange because we try to promote a sustainable lifestyle for faculty and students. One day I overheard a parent on a guided tour exclaim ‘Middlebury doesn’t even have electric car parking!’ It was sort of embarrassing.”
Cook researched the logistics of installing an EV charging station and surveyed faculty and staff on whether they drove an EV, how long they commute and if having a charging station at the College would make a difference to them. The response was overwhelmingly positive. After the grant was approved, the Environmental Council had to find a space on campus, negotiate with Green Mountain Power, which has a EV charging station program, and get approval from the Space Committee.

Although the single EV charging station can only service two cars at once, it is an important first step in expanding the amount of EVs at the College.

“It’s a pilot project, and it’s symbolic, but the idea is that in the future Middlebury could have an all electric fleet, and public safety could drive electric cars,” Cook said.

Two major problems: EVs have battled with are range and charging time. But recent electric car models have started to change this: the Nissan Leaf, to be released in 2016, will be able to travel 107 miles on a single charge and the Tesla Model S can travel 208 miles. The number of electric charging stations across the country is also increasing. Vermont, for instance, has over 115 EV charging stations. One company, Better Place, is creating electric car charging stations that can switch out an EV battery autonomously on a conveyor belt and replace it with a new, fully charged battery in five minutes. The company has launched pilot programs in Israel and Denmark.

Electric cars will be an important part of our future, and as climate change becomes more urgent and oil dwindles, it will become increasingly necessary to make the transition from gas-powered cars. The EV charging station is a symbolic start, and it’s hopefully a sign of more EVs and charging stations to come.