EV Project to showcase Nissan LEAF

Nissan will begin taking orders for its LEAF EV in Spring 2010.

(Credit: Nissan)

The EV Project, a pilot program to develop a nationwide public charging system for electric vehicles, is expected to give people an opportunity to inspect the Nissan LEAF EV more closely on Thursday and announce expansion plans that include San Diego.

The unveiling will take place at a press conference in San Diego and include representatives from San Diego Gas & Electric, the City of San Diego, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), and Don Kramer, the president of Ecotality's subsidiary eTec.

Electric-charging station manufacturer Ecotality has received $100 million in stimulus funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and is one of the lead partners on the EV Project which will span 11 U.S. cities in five states: Arizona, California, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington.

While the company has been partnering with Nissan to make public charging options a reality in the U.S., Ecotality has repeatedly said its stations are designed to fit Society of Automotive Engineers standards so that they'll be compatible with any electric cars built to that standard.

Ecotality announced Wednesday that its CEO Jonathan Read is currently in China as part of a 40-person delegation accompanying U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. The group is taking part in the China Clean Energy Roundtable as part of President Barack Obama's visit to China.

Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao announced Wednesday a U.S.-China "Electric Vehicles Initiative" to encourage research and develop joint standards for electric transportation, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

[Joe Real]

These pure EV cars should come standard with a hitch to tow a small generator for those long trips and not worry about running out of juice. Better invest in towing companies that have mobile electric chargers or mobile battery swap capabilities. I am sure there would be plenty EVs that will be stranded when they're adopted by the masses.<br /><br />This would be no problem for serial hybrid EV's like the Volt.

[krepitor]

So you really don't get it eh?<br />The whole idea is to get rid off Internal combustion engines my friend.<br />The Volt still a Hybride, still depending on gasoline. The Leaf a real solution EV.<br /><br />Great job Nissan!

[Joe Real]

Dream on my friend. It will take a long time before pure EV would be mass adopted. And I agree that it may be our ultimate goal, unless some other disruptive technologies come about again.<br /><br />We would basically view our transportation need as being powered by energy. Be it electricity or direct from fossil fuel. We would be undergoing a long transitionary stage. In this case, the serial hybrid EV's is the perfect solution for the transitionary period. These hybrids are already very efficient, which is a big plus from the get-go of its ICE. Most importantly they would allow us to use either electricity, fossil fuels, biofuels or any combination thereof. During the transitionary period, there could be price wars between the electric utilities and the oil industry. The surge in demand for electricity will surely drive the prices of utility rates, likewise, the oil industry will try to lower the prices of fuel until some equilibrium is achieved. But during the transition, the prices of electricity versus gas could swing wildly, and during the times when your cost per mile using electricity could be a lot higher than using gas. And if you're stuck with a pure EV, that would be electrifying to your budget. <br /><br />The money we spent on energy for our transportation would be too big to ignore. The worst fear is that when the utility companies are being bought out by the oil industry, or would collude together to continue the fleecing of commuters. After all, transportation energy is amongst the biggest big revenue maker.<br /><br />So I get it with more reality than you.