University of Vermont, Burlington Electric Unveil Electric Vehicle Charging Stations on UVM Campus

Burlington, Vt. – The University of Vermont and the Burlington Electric Department today officially unveiled four dual port electric vehicle (EV) charging stations positioned in strategic locations around the campus. During a joint news conference at the new Aiken Center charging station, UVM and BED representatives highlighted their commitment to increased workplace charging opportunities as a strategy to increase the number of EVs on the road and to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, all resulting from the ability to simultaneously charge eight vehicles.

“We’re proud that UVM is playing a leadership role in helping Vermont put more electric vehicles on the road and achieve its goal of significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions as a result,” said Tom Sullivan, UVM president, who was represented at the news conference by Provost David Rosowsky. “BED has been a terrific partner in this initiative, providing both the technical expertise needed to install the stations and all the necessary resources. We’re very grateful.”           

The UVM-BED partnership originated a number of years ago with representatives from each institution agreeing to work together on the deployment of electric vehicle technologies as one step toward being better environmental stewards. Thereafter, an agreement was signed, and the university and BED together chose the charging station locations based on research conducted with students, faculty, and staff.  BED managed and funded the charging station installations.

During the announcement, Neale Lunderville, BED General Manager, stated: “Today’s announcement serves as another example of Burlington Electric’s ongoing commitment to lead through energy innovation and to collaborate with UVM to make Burlington stronger. These new charging stations are part of BED’s vision to build a sustainable energy future that supports a growing economy and a thriving community.”                    

BED completed installation and activation of the Johnson House charging station in February 2016 and the Aiken Center charging station in March 2016. Both stations experienced immediate use and continue to be used regularly, particularly by university faculty and staff. Members of the general public are finding their way to the charging stations as well. Also, the two stations have experienced steady increases in the number of weekly charging sessions. The other two new charging stations are located at the entrance to the Trinity Campus and at Morrill Hall. The Trinity Campus station has been activated, and the Morrill Hall station will be activated in the coming days. Each of the 240-volt stations can charge a vehicle in an average of under four hours. Independent of its partnership with BED, UVM installed two 120-volt charging stations in the Gutterson parking garage using incentives offered by the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition. The Coalition, based at UVM’s Transportation Research Center, offers incentives to employers that install workplace charging stations.

The new Level 2 charging stations, along with two single port Level 1 stations UVM installed independently, represent the largest commitment to workplace charging to date made by any Vermont employer other than a utility. According to a November 2014 U.S. Department of Energy survey, employees with workplace charging are 20 times more likely to own an electric vehicle than those whose employers do not offer the service.

Prior to its work with UVM (its largest customer), BED already had installed six EV charging stations around the City as part of its commitment to contribute to Vermont’s EV charging stations network.  Those charging stations are located on Main Street near City Hall, in both the Marketplace and Cherry Street parking garages, and at BED’s Pine Street facility. Together, the four UVM charging stations and the six charging stations around the City are averaging between 300 and 400 charging sessions per month and have had visits from nearly 250 unique drivers in 2016. The vehicles belonging to those drivers are registered in 48 different Vermont communities, five neighboring states (CT, MA, NJ, NY, PA), and five Canadian communities.

In its Comprehensive Energy Plan, Vermont has pledged that 10 percent of all on-road vehicles will be fueled by renewable sources by 2025. Forty-seven percent of Vermont’s greenhouse gases comes from its transportation sector, according to the plan. In September 2015, bolstered by its agreement with BED to partner to install four charging stations around campus, UVM became one of 21 employers that committed to boosting workplace charging as part of Vermont’s Drive the Dream campaign by installing workplace charging stations.

The university currently plans to install two more dual port Level 2 charging stations in the redesigned Converse Hall parking lot when UVM and UVM Medical Center construction projects currently underway in the area are completed. “We are hopeful that we will add more charging locations across campus, including in our residential lots as demand grows and students bring electric vehicles to campus,” said James Barr, UVM Director of Transportation. “These stations are yet another step the University is taking to reduce our use of fossil fuels and contribute to a cleaner environment.”

Vermont is one of eight states to have signed a zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) memorandum of understanding (MOU) to coordinate actions to ensure that more ZEVs are on the road. Since signing the MOU in October 2013 and taking action to reach its goals, Vermont has seen an over 1,000 percent increase in the number of EVs in the state, from 88 in June 2014 to 988 in June 2015, according to Drive Electric Vermont.

Another recent partnership was announced in September 2015 when Mayor Miro Weinberger and President Sullivan announced that UVM and the City of Burlington would be working together to develop solar energy projects on UVM campus properties to capitalize on opportunities to make Burlington an even greener community. BED is managing the request for proposals process with a goal of generating one megawatt of electricity.

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Jeff Wakefield
Associate Director, University Communications
University of Vermont
86 South Williams St.
Burlington, VT 05401
(802) 656-5799, (802) 578-8830 (mobile)