Central Oregon Community College

A grant from the Oregon Clean Fuels Program and Pacific Power has allowed Central Oregon Community College to install four new electric-vehicle charging stations on its campuses.

A portion of the $112,000 grant paid for two charging stations on the COCC Bend campus and two on the Prineville campus. The charging stations are free and open to the public, according to a news release from the campus.

The portion that paid for the charging stations was approximately $32,000, according to Noelle Copley, the sustainability coordinator at COCC. About $75,000 of the grant was used to purchase three electric vehicles for the COCC fleet, she said. Around $5,000 of the grant is being used for educational purposes.

The charging ports in Bend are located on the north side of Newberry Hall. In Prineville, they are located on the east side of the campus parking lot.

COCC now has 12 charging stations across its four campuses, including its Redmond and Madras locations.

The charging stations are one part of a larger effort by COCC to increase sustainability efforts. The college has a student-staff sustainability committee, climate-action team workshops and an ongoing campuswide greenhouse gas inventory.

The college’s climate-oriented curriculum also provides hybrid-electric automotive training for students seeking a career in this field.