CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (September 3, 2013) – Chattanooga State Community College in an effort to accommodate all of its faculty, staff, and students has installed four new charging stations for electric cars on the main campus. The stations can be used to charge electric cars of any make and model. Chattanooga State is the first educational institution in the area to install the chargers.

The stations are located in various areas on campus. Two are located in the parking lot near the Center for Engineering, Technology, Arts and Sciences (CETAS), one is located in the parking lot behind the Center for Business, Industry and Health Professions (CBIH), and the last charging station is in a parking lot near the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT).

According to Bob Jackson, Chattanooga State director of Environmental Safety, “the most recent vehicle I saw had a $3 charge on the meter for a refill, which should get them 50 to 75 miles. Holy cow! To get that many miles in an all-gas car that size would cost about $7. That’s phenomenal.”

Plug In America, whose website says it is “a coalition of RAV4-EV drivers, former lessees of Honda EV+, GM EV1, Ford Ranger and Ford Th!nk City electric cars, and advocates of energy independence and clean air,” estimates the cost to fully-charge an all electric-vehicle is between $2 to $4. A car like the Nissan LEAF can travel almost 100 miles for that amount.