This announcement matches with the Raleigh stop on a coast-to-coast tour of Nissan’s EV Prototype, a vehicle that’s powered by Nissan’s lithium-ion battery pack and zero-emission electric motor. While this vehicle does not symbolize the design of Nissan’s electric vehicle that will be sold in 2010, the EV Prototype is an indicator of what’s to come in zero-emission mobility.
“Nissan, through the Renault-Nissan Alliance, is committed to being a global leader in zero-emission vehicles,” stated Dominique Thormann, senior vice president, administration and finance, Nissan North America, Inc. “Our partners in Raleigh share our goals of working together towards making the region plug-in ready for the introduction of electric vehicles next year. This partnership is an important step in making zero-emissions mobility a reality.”
The collaboration supports the Raleigh City’s mission and environmental goals. “We are delighted to be working with Progress Energy, Advanced Energy and the Renault-Nissan Alliance on this project,” stated Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker. “We take a great deal of pride in being a leader in the region in preparing for the plug-in electric car era. The City of Raleigh is a founding member of the Triangle Clean Cities Coalition. By providing the infrastructure and encouragement for the use of alternative- fuel vehicles, we’re in complete concert with both the mission statement of the City and our goal of reducing emissions for a cleaner environment.”
As part of the agreement, Nissan and its partners will develop plans to promote a charging infrastructure for EVs, and also the installment, operation and maintenance of a charging network. The partners also will work to coordinate the establishment of policies and help streamline the installment of an EV infrastructure. Nissan also has agreed to make available a supply of EVs to Progress Energy.
“Progress Energy is proud to partner with Nissan and the City of Raleigh on preparing the way for this innovative technology,” stated Bill Johnson, chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Progress Energy and co-chair of the Edison Electric Institute’s CEO Taskforce on Electric Transportation. “We already have one of the nation’s largest utility plug-in hybrid electric vehicle programs because we believe that electric vehicles and other alternative energy technologies are critical parts of confronting the new energy realities: growing customer demand, high fuel costs and global climate change. Electric transportation technology will save our customers money and help us all protect our environment.”
Advanced Energy will facilitate the working teams made up of governmental and non-governmental agencies and also private partners to work towards attaining the common goals as well as offer testing and validation of associated charging infrastructure and charge management technologies.
“Advanced Energy is proud to partner with Nissan, the City of Raleigh and Progress Energy on this exciting initiative,” stated Jeff Barghout, director of transportation initiatives at Advanced Energy. “We are currently working to develop and deploy the infrastructure needed to support electrified transportation in Raleigh. This partnership is well aligned with the NC Get Ready program- a new initiative, supported by a consortium of cities, government officials, industry leaders and nonprofit organizations to create positive social, environmental and economic benefits for North Carolina by accelerating the transition to electrified transportation.”
The Renault-Nissan Alliance has started ZEV initiatives in Kanagawa Prefecture and Yokohama in Japan, and also in Israel, Denmark, Portugal, Monaco, the UK, France, Switzerland, Ireland, China and Hong Kong. In the US, the alliance is exploring ways to promote zero-emission mobility and the development of an EV infrastructure in the State of Tennessee, the State of Oregon, Sonoma County and San Diego in California, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, and Seattle.
Progress Energy is a US-based integrated electric utility holding company.
Advanced Energy is a US-based nonprofit agency.
