FTCC will have electric vehicle charging stations installed on campus thanks to federal grant funding passed on by the N.C. Department of Transportation. [Photo by Brad Losh]
Fayetteville Technical Community College will soon have electric vehicle charging stations available on its campus, thanks to federal grant funding passed on by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
FTCC is one of 10 North Carolina community colleges to benefit from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The $1 million grant was designed to advance the USDOT’s effort to develop a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations so drivers can charge EVs in areas convenient to where they live and work and close to the state’s major thoroughfares.
Along with the charging stations, FTCC and its fellow community colleges will be able to add clean vehicle training courses that teach students how to build and repair electric vehicles and install, maintain and operate EV chargers.
FTCC has offered an EV maintenance class as part of its Automotive Systems Technology program since 2023, but will add coursework on the EV chargers once the machines are in place.
Twenty Level 2 EV charging stations will be installed at the community colleges. Level 2 chargers take between 4 and 8 hours to charge a vehicle.
The NCDOT announced the grant in a news release Thursday.
“We’re grateful to our federal partners for their continued support of North Carolina’s push for a clean energy economy,” said state Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins. “This grant not only improves access to convenient and reliable EV charging stations so more people will feel comfortable owning an electric vehicle. It also takes an important step to ensure our workforce has the education, knowledge and skills needed to sustain the clean energy transition.”
