Penn State Behrend has installed electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations in two locations on its campus in Harborcreek Township. The charging stations can be used by any member of the Penn State Behrend community – or by anyone driving near the college, including motorists on Interstate 90.
The stations, which can service six vehicles at any time, connect to ChargePoint, the world’s largest network of EV-charging options. They are listed on ChargePoint’s searchable map, making them visible to EV drivers everywhere.
“We’re now part of this network,” said Sherri “Sam” Mason, director of sustainability at Behrend. “Today, right off Interstate 90, people can charge their cars while they go for a walk in Wintergreen Gorge or around campus.”
Behrend is the first college in Erie County to provide EV chargers on campus.
“That makes me extremely proud,” Mason said. “This really encapsulates the role that higher education should play in providing a vision for the future and demonstrating how to embody it.”
The college has installed three charging stations: two in the Prischak parking lot, near the School of Science complex, and another in the Burke Center parking deck. The stations were paid for with funding from a PA Driving Forward grant, Penn State Sustainability and Behrend campus resources.
The Behrend charging stations are the last option in Pennsylvania for drivers heading east on Interstate 90. The next-closest stations on the I-90 corridor are at the Peach Street exit.
Penn State is exploring funding opportunities for additional charging stations at the University’s commonwealth campuses, including Behrend. The stations will encourage a long-term transition to EV usage – including the purchase of EV fleet vehicles at Behrend, said Randy Geering, senior director of business and operations at the college.
“Having these charging stations is a testament to Behrend’s commitment to sustainability,” Geering said.
