KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Western Michigan University, in partnership with Consumers Energy, unveiled 10 new dual-port electric vehicle charges on campus Wednesday, May 11.
The chargers are capable of powering up to 20 vehicles simultaneously, marking WMU as having the most public chargers of any university in the state.
During a brief ribbon cutting ceremony, Western Michigan University President Edward Montgomery said that WMU has long been a leader in promoting sustainability and innovation. He went onto say that this expansion of our electric vehicle charging stations demonstrates our continued commitment in those arenas and our willingness to partner with others who share the same values and vision.
Chargers are located at various locations across Western’s Kalamazoo campuses, including the solar array south of the Miller Auditorium parking ramp, in front of Floyd Hall, at the Office for Sustainability, between Sangren Hall and Seibert Administration Building, and on Stadium Drive near Waldo Stadium.
They are available for public use and will cost $0.20 cents per kilowatt hour while charging. An additional parking fee of $1.50 per hour will be assessed after two hours of charger use and will continue until the vehicle is unplugged and moved.
Those fees are based on research conducted by the engineering students and students in Western’s Haworth College of Business as well as peer-institution review and stakeholder input.
A $50,000 grant from Consumers Energy’s PowerMIFleet initiative helped to fund the new electric vehicle technology on campus.
A real-time map of campus chargers is available through the ChargePoint app. Instructions for using the chargers and answers to frequently asked questions will be available on the Office for Sustainability’s webpage.
