Laney College has driven into the future with 12 electric car charging stations, located near E Building and in the student/faculty parking lot.
As part of other steps taken towards moving Laney towards a greener future, Peralta Sustainability Manager Charles Neal, Laney Business Office Director Phyllis Carter, as well as Regina Davis have become part of a team to implement changes in the community. 
All Laney college students and faculty will now have access to a convenient and affordable manner of cleanly adding fuel to their vehicles. 
“Students will be able to conveniently charge up their cars while getting an education,” Davis said. “This does not only benefit students with electric vehicles, it cuts down on the carbon footprint of the entire campus.” 
Two types of chargers have been set up. The standard blue chargers are for use by students and faculty, and take roughly two hours to fully charge a car. 
There is also a fast charger, which takes only 30 minutes to completely charge a car, and is for use to anybody who needs it. More than just a charging mechanism, the fast charger connects Laney with other fast chargers around the country, so even those who have never stepped foot on campus will recognize the school as part of a movement bigger than itself. 
“It’s clear that there is a transition beginning from fossil fuels to cleaner options. The price for these vehicles will go down. They’re the future. With our grant we were given an opportunity. To go out-front to fulfill the need rather than try to catch up,” Davis said.
The chargers are not fully operational, but will be in the very near future. Currently, the team is waiting for permission to shut off electricity to Building E, the process being a tricky one as it requires pairing very modern technology to older equipment (that of Building E, which was erected in the 1970’s). 
The shut down will not be happening at a time that will affect students, being planned on either March 31, April 12, or April 19. There are 12 in total, eight directly on campus (including the fast charger), and four in the parking lot. There are similar instillations at the district office, and plans to erect chargers at Merritt College.
These electric chargers are not the only steps Laney has taken to reduce its carbon footprint. The team has also changed the exterior lighting used to LED lights, which reduced the lighting costs at Laney by 60 percent, as well as constrained the spread of the lighting as to lessen the disturbances to nocturnal animals. Solar photovoltaic systems are also now in play on campus, which have been used to supply up to 50 percent of power on campus.
Davis put the changes in perspective. “People thought it was crazy switching from gas lamps to electricity, thought it was frivolous. It took just a few to step out and make a change. Now that’s what we’re doing. It will be the future.”