JOHNSON CITY — East Tennessee State University unveiled eight new electric vehicle charging stations on campus on Thursday.
The Level 2 Clipper Creek EV charging stations will be in parking lot 15 and in the parking garage.
“These charging stations create opportunities for our students, faculty and staff with electric vehicles to be part of a better future here at our institution,” said ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland.
The charging stations were funded by the campus sustainability fee, which has been part of ETSU’s tuition since 2008, and installed as part of a partnership with Seven States Power Corporation, which is serving as the project manager, and BrightRidge, which is powering the chargers.
“I think we know that this is a part of our energy future, and being ready for it is important and is going to call upon each of us to collaborate across lines that we’ve historically not collaborated across to find ways to implement this technology in a way that’s accessible to not just students at ETSU, but the community as a whole,” said Johnson City Mayor Joe Wise.
The charging stations can provide roughly 25 miles per hour of range for any electric vehicle produced in North America, and have the potential to eventually provide enough electricity to reduce carbon levels enough to equal the planting of 200 trees.
“When the commitment by the car industry is that within the next three or four years, probably less, we will have 135 electric vehicle models available for people to purchase, battery powered is getting to where it will be 400 miles or more on a charge, which will go farther than any gas-powered car will get you,” said Jeff Dykes, CEO of BrightRidge. “So as the state of Tennessee, TVA and Seven States move toward getting those fast charging stations every 50 miles on the interstate, the anxiety of taking a trip in an electric vehicle goes away.”
The unveiling marks the 100th installation of EV charging stations by Seven States Power Corporation. The first was in partnership with BrightRidge in 2019 at the Hands On! Discovery Center
“It takes strong partnerships like these to integrate innovative technologies into our communities, and I see nothing but bright futures ahead for the Tennessee Valley,” said Betsey McCall, CEO of Seven States Power Corporation.
