Attention, Tesla, Bolt, Volt, Pacifica Hybrid, i3, and (in the above case), i-MiEV owners, to name just a few: The new Science Building at our CFAES Wooster campus includes a charging station for electric vehicles.
You can see how the charger works in the video above (1:30), and you can learn about the building in “Cutting-Edge in Wooster.”
Dave Benfield, pictured below at the wheel of an all-electric GEM car, retires Dec. 31 as CFAES associate vice president of agricultural administration and director of the college’s Wooster campus. Joe Messenger, assistant to the director of OARDC, based in the Facilities Services unit on the Wooster campus, shared the following.
One of the challenges that Dave Benfield asked me to accomplish was to initiate an electric fleet of vehicles on the Wooster campus. During the past five years, we have purchased five electric GEM cars and one electric GEM truck. During the budget year of FY2021, we are planning to buy one GEM flatbed truck, and that will fulfill the electrical fleet needs for our campus.
Thanks to Dave and his vision for future improvements, we have been able to reduce our carbon footprint on this campus, removing six gasoline-fueled vehicles from our service fleet. On average, our electric vehicles can run a full week on one charge. We will be operating our electric fleet long after Dave has retired. He has left us with a positive motivation for continued improvements on our campus.
Read a Dec. 12 Wooster Daily Record story about Benfield and his career, including helping the campus recover from not one, but two, tornadoes. (Photo: Courtesy of Joe Messenger.)
Ohio State hosts its third Smart Columbus Ride & Drive Roadshow on June 20–21 in Columbus. You’ll find, yes, a frunkload of details on the sustainability, economic, and fun-to-drive benefits of electric cars. And you’ll have chances to test drive some of them, including Hondas, BMWs, and Teslas. You can also learn about the Smart Columbus initiative.
