MACON – By the end of the week, two new charging stations are set to appear on the smart phone apps and GPS systems of electric car owners who plan trips through and to Macon. Two electric vehicle charging stations are being installed on the Mercer University campus this week, each with the capacity to charge two vehicles. The stations are the first along Interstate 75 in Macon and the first to be placed in a retail area in Macon.
Workers from Hannah Solar and Worry Free Power are installing a station at Mercer's first LEED-certified building, the Emily Parker Myers Admissions and Welcome Center, and in the parking lot of Mercer Village. The new stations are paid for through a grant-funded program from the U.S. Department of Energy, with matching funds from Ecotality. The stations are part of a group of the 30 that the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition acquired for Macon.
Ecotality plans to place and operate more than 10,000 stations throughout the U.S., including the two at Mercer. The grant funds cover most of the installation costs, with Mercer providing the difference. Ecotality will operate the stations for the coming year as part of a research project, and then ownership will pass to Mercer.
Electric car owners can swipe a credit card at the stations and pay a small fee per hour of charge. A full charge takes about three hours, said Scott Kilgore, director of EV infrastructure at Hannah. That time can be filled touring the Mercer campus, dining or shopping in Mercer Village, or taking in College Hill. J.R. Olive, program coordinator with College Hill Alliance, helped Mercer secure the charging stations and fill out the necessary paperwork.
“This will be a great addition to Mercer Village and the Mercer campus,” Olive said. “It's great for the environment, and it's great for us. Now, if you need to charge your car, you can stop in and take in the amenities of campus, Mercer Village and the College Hill Corridor.”
About Mercer University
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University enrolls more than 8,300 students in 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies – on campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah – and four regional academic centers across the state. The Mercer Health Sciences Center launched July 1, 2012, and includes the University's medical, nursing and pharmacy schools and will add a fourth college – the College of Health Professions – on July 1, 2013. Mercer is affiliated with four teaching hospitals — Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah, the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, and The Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus. The University also has educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta. It operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program. www.mercer.edu
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