Dec 9 2014
In the last year Georgia Tech has seen steady growth in the number of electric vehicles (EV), with approximately 150 EVs parking on campus regularly. A recent grant of $39,675 from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) to Tech’s Parking and Transportation Services will help the Institute expand its EV charging program by installing nine dual-port Level II chargers in visitor-accessible locations including near the Student Center, Howey Physics Building, and Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Electric Vehicles on Campus. Photo by Brenda Lin, Technique.
“We’re very pleased to have been selected from a quality pool of candidates throughout the state to receive this grant funding, which will allow us to best leverage our limited transportation dollars to meet the growing need on campus for charging,” said Lance Lunsway, director of Parking and Transportation Services. The GEFA Charge Georgia grant was available to Georgia colleges, universities, and technical colleges; state agencies and authorities; and cities and counties.
To meet the need for EV charging, Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) has already installed Level II chargers in Tech Square, and Level I chargers in specific campus parking decks. Demand is still growing.
“The Tech community values innovation and is an early adopter of technology,” said Lisa Safstrom, campus transportation planner in PTS. “That’s one reason why there are so many electric vehicles on campus.”
PTS supports a variety of transportation options to access campus, including the use of EVs, which are economical and address environmental concerns. The state of Georgia, boosted by a state tax incentive, is the top-ranked state for EV sales in the country. According to InsideEVs, one out of every 60 new cars registered in Georgia during the first six months of 2014 was an all-electric vehicle.
“We appreciate that people on campus are using greener commuter modes, and we are responding to requests for additional chargers,” Safstrom said. “The challenge is that everybody wants a charger everywhere, and that’s not feasible.”
To continue to meet the demand, PTS is collaborating with several Tech classes that are evaluating the use of electric vehicles on campus and will make recommendations to PTS upon completion of their work.
For details on campus options for EV charging, visit c.gatech.edu/EVparking.