St. Michael’s College in Vermont now has two solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations up and running, thanks to a partnership with Green Mountain Power.

The utility provider teamed up with the college to foster an environment where conservation, efficiency and innovation will thrive.

“I don’t think we have anyone on campus who owns an electric vehicle yet,” said college spokeswoman Buff Lindau. “I think this is more symbolic right now, and we expect it to encourage people to consider purchasing an electric vehicle.”

She said the college, with a student population just under 2,000, has aggressively pursued green initiatives and has several programs in the works to reduce its carbon footprint.

The station will be paired with a solar photovoltaic system placed atop the Klein Center. When the electricity generated by the solar array isn’t needed to charge vehicles, it will go into the grid and offset the college’s overall energy consumption, according to a press release.

"Not only is this an important step to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles, but it demonstrates how renewable energy fits in with new technologies to displace carbon emissions, particularly from transportation," Mary Powell, Green Mountain Power CEO, was quoted in the release.

Lindau said that the new electric vehicle station is compatible with all types of electric vehicles currently available on the market and that while the students and staff at the school might not yet have a need for the charging station, it is located on a heavily trafficked public road not far from populous Burlington, Vermont.

“We expect that those charging stations will be available for public use, free of charge,” Lindau said. “That should be the case for at least the next couple years.”

She said electric vehicles likely do not have a strong presence on campus yet because they are not easy to find or purchase right now. But that is expected to change.

It is anticipated that the electric vehicle market will grow in the coming years with more than 100 plug-in electric or hybrid models available by 2013, according to the press release.

While the EV charging station model will be different than the traditional gas station model, because most charging takes multiple hours and will be done at home, it is expected that public charging stations will be used to "top off" vehicles to keep them highly charged and expand their range.

Image courtesy of Green Mountain Power.