Electric vehicle charging stations add to growing options

Drivers navigating Wayne County roads with a plug-in electric or hybrid vehicle have one more option to get charged up.

Earlham College announced Feb. 25 that it had installed two new charging stations on the north side of its Richmond campus. Drivers can use the Level 2, 11-kilowatt facilities at the cost of 40 cents per kilowatt hour. Earlham employees get a discounted rate of 25 cents/kWh.

The electric charging station directory website PlugShare, which lists driver-contributed station information, shows there are a handful of other options in Wayne County: a two-station location in Hagerstown (price unlisted), a station at the Warm Glow Candle outlet north of Centerville (15 cents/kWh plus parking fees), eight Tesla charging stations at Meijer in Richmond (price unlisted), three stations at Home2 Suites on National Road East near I-70 (price unlisted) and two stations at the Cronin Toyota automobile dealership (price unlisted).

“I think it opens up people’s ability to consider buying an electric vehicle,” Thea Clarkberg, Earlham’s assistant director of admissions, said in information released by the college. Clarkberg owns a hybrid electric vehicle and is excited to see the chargers pop up on campus, calling it “an investment in our future as a planet.”

The charging stations were funded through Earlham’s Evans, Johnson, Nicholson Endowment Fund, and the college says it hopes they will be so heavily used that more are needed.

Sales of electric and hybrid vehicles continue to grow nationwide, representing over 21% of new, light-duty vehicle purchases in the third quarter of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Jamey Pavey, director of Earlham’s Center for Environmental Leadership, says she hopes the new offering will bring the surrounding community onto campus more. “Richmond does not have a lot of chargers, especially on the west side of town. I know some folks will start to use these chargers, and hopefully they’ll explore campus while they’re waiting on their car to charge.”