Charging station at Highland Business Center

Attention electric-vehicle owners: The Austin Community College District now has charging stations at campuses and administrative locations in Austin and Round Rock. There are a total of 18 charging stations at the following sites:

• Rio Grande Campus (Downtown Austin, 1212 Rio Grande St.)
• Pinnacle Campus (Southwest Austin, 7748 Hwy. 290 W.)
• South Austin Campus (1820 W. Stassney Ln.)
• Eastview Campus (Central East Austin, 3401 Webberville Rd.)
• Riverside Campus (Southeast Austin, 1020 Grove Blvd.)
• Highland Business Center (Central Austin, 5930 Middle Fiskville Rd.)
• Service Center (Northeast Austin, 9101 Tuscany Way)
• Northridge Campus (North Austin, 11928 Stonehollow Dr.)
• Round Rock Campus (4400 College Park Dr.)

Each location has four charging spots open to the public; an ACC parking permit is not required. The spots also are available for use by ACC students and employees participating in the Green Car parking program for fuel-efficient/low-emissions vehicles. Parking and charging in the spaces are limited to four hours at a time.

“Providing electric-vehicle charging stations extends the college’s commitment to sustainability,” said Andy Kim, director of environmental stewardship. “This allows ACC to create a support network for eco-friendly vehicles and to make sustainable living more accessible to students, staff, and the community.”

The charging stations are part of the ChargePoint America program; the Austin locations are part of Austin Energy’s Plug-In EVerywhere network, developed in partnership with ChargePoint America. Charging is available for $2 per hour, payable on-site with a credit or debit card. For the Plug-In EVerywhere stations, Austin Energy also offers a $25 six-month subscription swipe card for unlimited charging at any network location.

“This network of public charging stations will make it possible for electric-vehicle owners to ‘top off’ their batteries at locations easily accessible from almost anywhere in Austin. It should go a long way toward making our customers feel much more comfortable owning and driving electric cars in Austin,” said Richard Morgan, Austin Energy’s green building and emerging technologies manager.

Austin Energy estimates there will be approximately 36,000 electric vehicles on Austin roadways by 2020.

Federal grants funded the cost of the stations, and Austin Energy offered rebates of up to $2,500 per charging station to help defray installation costs for the Austin sites.

To learn more about Plug-In EVerywhere and find other charging locations, visit Austin Energy’s website. The ChargePoint charging stations are managed by the ChargePoint Network. ChargePoint offers features such as 24/7 driver support, billing options, and mobile-phone applications that provide drivers with real-time station location and availability, turn-by-turn navigation, and charging status. Drivers may explore the entire ChargePoint network at www.mychargepoint.net.

Electric-vehicle charging is the college’s latest initiative to promote sustainable practices. For more information on the charging stations (including maps to campus charging locations) as well as other sustainability programs at ACC, log on to austincc.edu/sustainability.