Summary of Stakeholder Interviews

Interviews with 34 organizations including small businesses, realty groups, educational institutions, government entities, and economic development organizations.
Electric vehicle owners are the ones in the community who know more about these vehicles than most stakeholders interviewed, who generally have very little knowledge of EVs.
Most individuals say that having more EV chargers would help EV drivers who are concerned about the range of their EVs and encourage more people to purchase EVs because they will be able to travel further distances. The number of rural towns in Centre County discourages the community from investing in EVs and charging infrastructure due to the sheer distances folks need to drive to get anywhere. There are not enough charging stations the further you get from the metropolitan area of State College to assure drivers that they can cover the distances.
Almost all the stakeholders interviewed believed there would be major benefits to the economy due to people stopping in State College, Philipsburg, and Bellefonte as they make their way through the area via route 322, 99, and I-80. Having chargers in these towns would attract travelers to stop and stay while their EV is charging.
A challenge faced by many smaller businesses and entities is finding the funding to implement chargers. The initial cost is too high for many, and state funding has passed over several small businesses to implement charging at larger businesses like Sheetz and Weis.