ISSUED: 31 May 2016
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University has upgraded its electric vehicle charging service. New charging stations have been installed behind the Robert C. Byrd Science and Technology Center. They are connected to ChargePoint, a company that provides a nationwide network of charging stations.
Anyone with an electric vehicle can park in the lot while charging and no permit is required. It costs two cents a minute to charge a vehicle and there’s a minimum charge of one-hour, or $1.20. Dr. Clarissa Mathews, chair of the Institute of Environmental and Physical Sciences, said the money raised will be just enough for maintenance and to cover the yearly ChargePoint subscription fee. Anyone wanting to use the chargers needs to download the free ChargePoint mobile app for iOS or Android. The app allows drivers to pay for the service, tells them where chargers are located, and whether they’re available.
“They can determine if the chargers are in use before they drive there, which for an electric vehicle driver is very important because they have to determine how far they can get before their batteries run out,” Mathews said. “We are really excited about them because they are the latest model and they are the cutting edge technology for electric charging.”
The total cost for the project was $17,000. Mathews said Shepherd received a $5,000 grant from the West Virginia Division of Energy. Schneider Electric, the manufacturer of the chargers, donated one unit valued at $9,000. The Institute of Environmental and Physical Sciences and School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics covered the balance.
For more information, visit http://suieps.org/ev-chargers/.
Listen to the interview HERE.
— 30 —
