Hartnell College goes eco with electric car charging stations and more solar panels.

If you drive your electric car to Hartnell College, you might want to park in the shade of a solar panel canopy, then charge your car while attending class. 

That environmentally conscious driving scheme is possible, thanks to 14 newly installed electric vehicle charging stations, 10 on the main campus in South Salinas, and another four on the Alisal campus. 

The cost of charging is just $1 per flow hour, though it's steep to start: Drivers must pay a $99 one-time set-up fee, then a $29.95 monthly subscription to charge. Drivers can subscribe by emailing newdriver@nrg.com. 

Hartnell is also going greener when it comes to solar. On June 16, the board of trustees approves an agreement with Opterra Energy Services, Inc., to install panels on the main campus.

The project is expected to meet 25 percent of the campus' energy requirement. 

It comes two years after Opterra installed a 543-kilowatt system on the parking lot canopy on Hartnell's Alisal campus, generating 93 percent of that campus' energy supply. 

The California Energy Commission awarded Hartnell a $3 million interest-free loan to build the system. That loan will be paid off over 20 years, and the solar project is anticipated to save Hartnell $3.6 million over 25 years. 

Combined with the Alisal campus project, Hartnell officials expect to save $9.8 million. 

"These energy-efficiency projects are part of the district's efforts to be more energy-efficient and sustainable, and to [be] good stewards of the environment,” Superintendent/President Willard Lewallen said in a statement.