East Lansing officials expect to install two electric car chargers

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The city of East Lansing is expected to go green later this spring if plans to install two electric car charging stations in the city pan out.

Preliminary details of the planned installation were presented to the city council at its work session Feb. 14.

City officials hope to install the stations before the end of this spring, but no date has been set yet, said Tim Schmitt, a community development analyst with East Lansing.

Officials are planning to install one charging station in the southeast corner of the parking lot at the East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbot Road, and also are examining putting a station in one of the city’s parking ramps, Schmitt said.

The installation date depends on the finalization of a service agreement with the Lansing Board of Water and Light, which is expected to construct the stations at no cost to the city.

An electric charging station installed in Kellogg Center’s parking ramp last October cost $5,000 to install.

The board is planning to install the new stations using part of a $750,000 appropriation from the Department of Energy it received in October 2010, which also paid for Kellogg Center’s charging station.

The appropriation has been used to install 23 electric car charging stations throughout the Lansing area, said Angie Goodman, an assistant project manager with the Board of Water and Light.

Before the station is installed, the service agreement also must be approved by the city council, which will decide how much to charge for station usage.

The city will cover the costs of electricity, but Schmitt said charging electric vehicles is relatively inexpensive.

It costs less than a dollar to charge a Chevy Volt for about eight hours, Schmitt told the city council during last week’s work session.

Schmitt said he expects the stations to be used immediately after their construction.

Mayor Diane Goddeeris said the planned installation reflects East Lansing’s increasing commitment to sustainability.

“People that come from a longer distance that might need a charge, those are really the ones that will benefit,” she said. “This type of charging station is a great educational piece.”

Lynda Boomer, an energy and environmental engineer with the MSU Physical Plant, said the Kellogg station is used quite regularly by a few drivers with electric cars.

The university also installed four charging stations on the east end of Lot 79 near Spartan Stadium and Central Services this January, Boomer said.

With additional electric charging stations expected to come to the area, she said electric car usage is likely to increase.

“I think demand will grow as the gas prices go up,” she said. “There are more companies making these vehicles.”

Matt Stehouwer, the technology manager in MSU’s College of Natural Science, owns an electric Chevy Volt and said he would be likely to use the East Lansing station because of its location.

“I’m glad to see more of them come in,” he said.

Interdisciplinary studies in social science and health studies senior Stephanie Crosby said although she supports the planned station, she’s not sure of the market for electric cars or charging stations in the area.

“I don’t know how many people have electric cars here,” she said. “If I had one, I would use it, though.”

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