By MARCOS BROCH & JOEL RAMIREZ, NEWS3 Reporters
MACOMB, Illinois (NEWS3) – President Biden recently announced an ambitious plan for the car industry. By 2030, 50% of new car sales will be zero-emissions vehicles, including battery-electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell electric vehicles.
Although many drivers plug their vehicles in at home, public charging stations will be crucial in the upcoming years, especially to those who live in apartments and people who drive long distances.
At WIU, there is only one charging station at the moment. It is free, it does not require a reservation, and it is open for public use.
“We have one in the Q-lot; it is available for anyone to use. There are no reservations required. We are happy to maintain that and provide that for public use.” Troy Rhoads, interim assistant vice president of facilities management, said.
He also said that they would love to expand the number of electric charging stations, but that at this point, they don’t have any plans in place for the Macomb campus, although they have considered a couple of other locations.
“We are considering and hope to have, in the next six months, another two stations in our Quad City campus,” Rhoads said.
“I would say that in the long term, there is definitely an opportunity for growth and expansion on that. How many we would have and those locations, at this point, I can’t really say,” he said.
Rhoads also stated that he is aware that more chargers are necessary to encourage electric vehicles in the university community. He said that WIU wants to be part of the change.
“I absolutely think so, and I think that is something we would like to be part of and encourage. It is definitely a boom for the environment and sustainability,” he said. “Electric vehicles are the next opportunity, the big opportunity for sustainability and pollution control in the United States.”
