A-B Tech Community College has new electric vehicle charging stations provided by a grant from the NC Clean Energy Technology Center at NC State through the 2020 Clean Fuel Advanced Technology project.
The $75,000 grant helped replace chargers that were installed years ago at A-B Tech that had since failed and were no longer serviceable by the company that manufactured them. The grant also included federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality funding provided by the NC Department of Transportation.
A-B Tech has a DC faster charger with two cords, one for American and European-built vehicles and the CHAdeMO, used primarily for cars from Japanese manufacturers. It can provide a full charge in 30 minutes to an hour, according to Chris Dobbins, Fleet Advisor for the Land of Sky Clean Vehicles Coalition. There are also two Level 2 chargers that are at a more moderate speed. All three are equipped with credit card readers.
“It helps to promote the use of electric vehicles,” said Dobbins. “One of the biggest concerns people have about electric vehicles is range anxiety. With more stations available, we will have more people willing to buy the vehicles."
A-B Tech’s chargers are on the Greenlots mobile connectivity network system, and the A-B Tech location is the first Greenlots site in the North Carolina. The station is listed on the PlugShare.com and Chargepoint’s maps. They are located on the A-B Tech Asheville campus along Victoria Road at the end closest to Meadow Road in a large parking lot with an ATM.
