New Electric Vehicle Charging Stations at Otero College

Otero College is now the host of two, dual-port Electric Vehicle charging stations. Anyone that owns a vehicle that can be plugged in, Battery Electric or Plug-In Hybrid, can utilize them. These charging stations are open to all faculty, staff, students, and the public. The cost is $0.25/kWh.

On Aug. 4, 2021, Otero College was awarded the Charge Ahead Colorado grant to help fund the installation of two dual-port, Level 2 ChargePoint charging stations (CT-4000) on campus. The site selected for these charging stations is the parking lot directly attached to the rear of the McDivitt Center gym – 55 Piñon St. in La Junta.

At a ribbon cutting ceremony, Otero president, Tim Alvarez shared information on electric vehicles and was followed up by Dr. Allan Nolan, Otero science faculty member. Nolan owns a Tesla Model 3, which is an earlier, more affordable, battery powered electric vehicle.

According to Dr. Nolan, “Several manufacturers in the United States have dedicated a timeline where the entire fleet will be electric by 2030 or 2035… It’s coming, it’s here, and we wanted to make sure that Otero was at the forefront of that movement. We want to make sure that not only are we prepared for our students we have today but the students that are coming to us.”

Information on these charging stations is available on all major charging apps, including the National Alternative Fuel Database, PlugShare, ChargePoint, ABetterRoutePlanner, ChargeWay, etc. The charging stations at Otero are managed by ChargePoint, the world’s largest EV charging network, with over 174,000 charging points operating in 14 countries.

To use a charging station, drivers will need to download the ChargePoint mobile app and sign up for a free ChargePoint account. Full details on how to access EV charging stations through ChargePoint can be found at the ChargePoint website.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Allan Nolan, Otero science faculty, at 719-384-6994 or email allan.nolan@otero.edu.