Cambrian College is now home to 20 publicly available electric vehicle charger ports, which people can use for $2.50 per hour, with a four-hour time limit.
A vehicle can be charged from empty within four hours, Cambrian College interim president Shawn Poland said, so the time limit shouldn’t be an issue.
A media conference at the college on Friday featuring Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced a $100,000 federal contribution toward the charging ports, which came at a total cost of $354,000.
“Successful businesses learn to adapt to changes in the business environment,” Wilkinson said, citing low-carbon efforts as part of this changing business environment. Transportation accounts for approximately 25 per cent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
These are Cambrian College’s first publicly available electric vehicle charging ports, though they already have one in a teaching lab, VP of international, finance and admin, and applied research Kristine Morrissey told Sudbury.com.
The college has been striving to prepare their students for an electric vehicle future, she said, pointing to a battery electric vehicle lab as a key example.
“As we look at how we move forward with battery electric vehicles, all our trades will eventually build in components of electric vehicles so they can graduate and work in a workforce where they have to build and maintain electric vehicles,” she said.
The environmentally minded nature of the college extends beyond education, as they’ve been striving to become more sustainable from an infrastructure perspective as well.
New HVAC systems, LED light upgrades, a geothermal system and tightening up buildings so less heat escapes have all been priorities in recent years, she said.
Electric vehicle charging ports are part of this effort, she said, noting they’ve seen more students and staff coming on campus with electric vehicles and saw an opportunity to fill a need.
Greater Sudbury’s position to supply critical minerals for the world’s growing need for electric vehicles was also referenced during Wednesday’s media event.
“The critical minerals portion of this conversation that enables electric vehicles is a generational economic opportunity for Canada,” Wilkinson said.
“Critical minerals play an important role in achieving Canada's climate targets and reducing emissions in the transportation sector,” Sudbury Liberal MP Viviane Lapointe said. “Today's announcement is another example of how we are supporting Sudbury's ongoing leadership in the global transformation to net zero."
During Wednesday’s media conference, electric vehicle owner Lynn Kabaroff was invited to share her experiences in navigating Greater Sudbury with her 2018 Nissan Leaf.
“I can drive from one end of town to the other and I’m down 20 per cent on my battery,” she told Sudbury.com after the event, adding the battery tends to drain more quickly in the winter.
It can go approximately 200 kilometres on a charge, and she said the chargers at Science North and now at Cambrian College help make electric vehicles more accessible.
“The battery technology is getting better all the time, so we’re looking at how far we can take it to other locations as the infrastructure gets added in.”
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
