Surry Community College and Surry Communications, in partnership with Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation, have recently installed a Level II ChargePoint electric vehicle dual charging station at each of their locations in Dobson.
The charging station at Surry Community College is located in the J Building parking lot on the college’s Dobson campus at 630 S. Main St., where it can be accessed by students, faculty and staff, and community members. Its installation in January was used as a teaching tool for the electrical and automotive classes.
Travis Bode, key accounts and energy services coordinator for Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation, joins Dr. David Shockley, president of Surry Community College, as well as SCC faculty, staff and electrical and automotive students to unveil a new Level II electric vehicle charger available for community use at the J Building on the Dobson campus.
“Surry Community College is thankful for Surry-Yadkin EMC’s assistance in securing funding for the electric vehicle charging station,” said Dr. David Shockley, SCC president. “This EV station will allow the community the ability to recharge their electric vehicles right on our Dobson campus. Our Electrical Systems students assembled, installed and connected the station with the Automotive students observing the installation process. We appreciate Surry-Yadkin EMC being a long-time supporter and friend to the college.”
Surry Community College Electrical Systems students learn how to install an EV charger with hands-on experience as they connect the new Level II charger at SCC’s Dobson campus in January.
The charging station at Surry Communications is located in the parking lot of its office at 819 E. Atkins St. in Dobson, and will be available to the community and Surry Communications’ customers and employees.
“Surry Communications is excited to install an EV charging station at our corporate headquarters in Dobson. This charging station will increase the accessibility and viability of electric vehicle ownership for our members and customers,” said Richie Parker, CEO of Surry Communications.
“This is a great partnership with our neighboring electric co-op, Surry-Yadkin EMC. The strengths, and future endeavors, of both cooperatives is highlighted with this offering,” Parker said. “Surry-Yadkin EMC helps provide alternate fuel options to ever-increase ‘smart’ vehicles and Surry Communications helps pave the way with broadband connections needed for future ‘smart’ vehicles and highways. The addition of this charging station broadens the footprint and driving range for users of the ChargePoint network.”
Richie Parker, CEO of Surry Communications, and Melanie Senter, marketing manager of Surry Communications, meet with Travis Bode, key accounts and energy services coordinator of SYEMC, to get a close-up look of the new EV charger at Surry Communications’ Dobson headquarters.
SYEMC, along with the rest of North Carolina’s electric cooperatives, is focused on supporting and benefitting the communities it serves, while striving to meet sustainability goals of reducing carbon emissions by 50 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 as part of the cooperative network’s Brighter Future vision.
The cooperative’s EV charging network is one of the ways SYEMC is helping attain that goal. SYEMC’s charging network includes a DC fast charger at the Circle K on Zephyr Road at the I-77 interchange which was installed in 2020, as well as Level II chargers at Fairfield Inn on CC Camp Road in Elkin; Hampton Inn at the Dobson I-77 interchange; the SYEMC headquarters at 510 S. Main St., Dobson; the new Surry Communications and Surry Community College locations; and one which will be installed in coming months at the Hanging Rock State Park visitors center.
“From the time we were formed by local community members in 1940, Surry-Yadkin EMC has been committed to building a brighter future for the people, businesses and communities we serve,” said Greg Puckett, executive vice president and general manager of SYEMC. “Our original goal was to bring electricity and opportunity to our region, and it has since expanded to include the pursuit of new energy solutions, community support and outreach and economic development initiatives that provide us with new ways to deliver value to our members.
“This includes providing electricity that is reliable and environmentally responsible, and providing places to charge vehicles with zero carbon emissions is a way we can help reach the goal of reducing a carbon footprint,” Puckett said.
Surry-Yadkin EMC is interested in partnering with other businesses in the service area of Surry, Yadkin, Stokes, Wilkes and Forsyth counties to bring more economic development and EV charging opportunities to the region. For more information, please reach out to Wendy Wood at 336-356-5259 or wendywood@syemc.com.
To learn more about electric cooperatives’ electric vehicle charging stations and initiatives across the state, visit ncdriveelectric.com.