CLINTON Hamilton College installs electric charging stations

Hamilton College recently installed 20 electric charging stations at various locations throughout the campus.

They are available for use by the campus and community free of charge.

Director of Building Systems Management William Huggins, who oversaw the project, said that the Facilities Management team knew that “20 stations would be more then we needed, yet it was an opportunity to prepare ourselves for the future, realizing that it would just be a matter of time before electric vehicles, EVs, would become the norm.

“We needed to create the infrastructure before people will be willing to purchase EV vehicles. The campus was studied to determine the best locations to place the chargers; the selected locations took into account student needs and employee parking patterns as well as howwe could make it convenient for guests to have opportunities to charge. Our Admissions Office tends to see visitors that need this ability.”

Officials noted how charging locations were selected in parking lots above the Dean of Students office, behind the squash courts, in two student lots on the Kirkland side of campus, behind the library and the admission office, behind Skenandoa and Ferguson residence halls, and behind Campus Safety’s office.

Although parking spaces are currently designated for charging at only three locations, as the program grows, spaces at the other locations will be reserved for charging to accommodate demand. Vehicles are allowed to stay in charging spaces for a maximum of three hours.

“I feel we are doing what’s right for our community and environment until, perhaps, some other innovation emerges as a better option,” said Huggins.

This program was made possible with grants from National Grid and NYSERDA (The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority). For those interested in an electric car, information can be found at Drive Green with National Grid, a program that makes electric cars more affordable and accessible.