Nov 26 2008

Electric Vehicles Continue to Charge Forward

Posted by: Jennifer Zerwer

If the San Francisco and Los Angeles Auto Shows are any indication, there still remains a strong drive to electrify vehicles despite the ongoing economic turmoil and recent reductions in gas prices.

Included in the fleet of alternative vehicles on display at the San Francisco show is PG&E's new all-electric vehicle from Mitsubishi Motors. As I've noted previously, we're leasing the vehicle for three years for research and demonstration purposes, which is part of our ongoing efforts to prepare for the integration of electric vehicles with the electric grid.

I had the opportunity to take a noiseless ride in Mitsubishi's iMiEV when we received it last Friday and was surprised at how roomy the four passenger vehicle is; there's ample leg room even in the back seat and trunk space to boot!

Although most electric vehicles won't begin hitting the marketplace until 2012, Palo Alto-based Better Place recently announced plans to help the San Francisco Bay Area prepare to switch to these low-carbon vehicles. Through a public-private partnership, Better Place hopes to spearhead a $1 billion investment to begin network planning in 2009 and deployment of charging infrastructure in 2010.

There are many reasons that make the Bay Area an ideal place for electric vehicles to enter the U.S. market, not the least of which is the region's energy provider (wink, wink), which delivers some of cleanest electricity in the nation, with 50 percent coming from non-carbon sources on average.

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