The Richmond Electric Vehicle Initiative (REVi) Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan was released in March of 2013 following a period of review by project stakeholders.

A partnership of organizations in the Richmond region established the REVi initiative with the goal of fostering full-scale EV adoption. Richmond is at the forefront of emerging transportation modes and technologies, and is particularly supportive of EVs. This is evident through REVi’s pursuit and award of the US Department of Energy Clean Cities’ Community Readiness and Planning for Plug-in Electric Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure project, which has funded the document. This community readiness and planning project is intended to facilitate the adoption of EVs and associated infrastructure in the Richmond region and to serve as an example for other communities. The resulting work has advanced planning for the Richmond region as an attractive and sustainable market for EVs, established the educational groundwork for EV adoption, and developed a regional strategic plan that identifies and fosters policies to expedite EV infrastructure implementation specific to the Richmond Region. This plan is a critical milestone in moving the Commonwealth one step closer to a balanced energy portfolio for transportation.

The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy was the prime award recipient, with Virginia Clean Cities serving as the award administrator and overall program manager. A nine-member Advisory Board focused on program goals while several working groups and technical advisory groups addressed plan development. The program started with over 50 organizations and increased that number substantially throughout the project. Stakeholder groups participated in forums to help conduct studies and analyses, as well as plan and implement project objectives. Localities represented in REVi include the Town of Ashland, the City of Richmond, and the counties of Charles City, Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent and Powhatan, as defined by the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission. Other nearby localities also participated in project efforts.

Adoption of EVs is becoming a reality in the throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, which is well-positioned geographically and economically to participate in this emerging transportation technology. Embracing EV use in Virginia will assist efforts to reduce emissions, increase energy independence, and create jobs in the Commonwealth. Electricity represents a less expensive, cleaner, and locally generated energy source. Virginia’s economy is already benefiting from EV deployment. Local companies make batteries, battery components, motors, charging stations, and wireless charging technology. Companies in Virginia also design, manufacture and deploy electric vehicles, and convert vehicles to plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles. Virginia entities are researching vehicle conversions, assessing charging capacity, reviewing financial strategies, and considering roles in jump-starting vehicle adoption and infrastructure deployment to further benefit our local economy.

Richmond is at the forefront of emerging transportation modes and technologies, and is particularly supportive of EVs. For example, Ford Motor Company selected Richmond as one of the nineteen US cities to launch its first electric car, the Focus Electric; and the area has seen many other EVs come to market since then. Dominion Virginia Power is piloting Time-of-Use rates to encourage off-peak EV charging. To view the full plan, click here.

Save the date for the upcoming Clean Cities EV Quarterly Discussion webinar, which has been scheduled for June 18th beginning at 3pm ET. Clean Cities coordinators will present details of their EV community readiness planning projects. They include Kim Tyrell from Denver Clean Cities, Christina Ficicchia from Empire Clean Cities, and Don Francis from Atlanta Clean Cities. Linda Bluestein from DOE will moderate and host the webinar. The webinar should last about an hour and a half. All are invited to attend.

Webinar login details are as follows:

Audio
888-807-9760
Participant passcode: 5262808

Web
URL: https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join/
Conference number: PW2968499
Audience passcode: 5262808

Participants can join the event directly at:
https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join.php?i=PW2968499&p=5262808&t=c

Please contact Andrew Hudgins at 303-275-4382 or andrew.hudgins@nrel.gov with questions.

You DO NOT need to register for this event – simply follow the links above to join the call!

This incoming email from Hugh Joyce was so good we had to post:

GreenTech Automotive Expands Product Line with
All-Electric Sedan for North American Market

Price Point Projected to be Under $25,000 with
Range of Over 100 Miles

GreenTech Automotive, an American manufacturer of all-electric vehicles will launch a five-passenger, all-electric sedan to be assembled in the United States. GreenTech currently manufacturers the all-electric two-passenger MyCar.

GTA All-Electric Sedan

GTA MyCar NEV

The new EV sedan is the result of a new strategic partnership between GTA and JAC Motors, a leading Chinese OEM. The new sedan combines JAC’s award-winning vehicle platform with GTA’s advanced electric powertrain and battery management system. The sedan will feature a 19kWh battery with a range of over 100 miles on a single charge and a charge time of 6-8 hours. GTA will assemble the vehicles in its Horn Lake, Miss., facility for distribution in North America exclusively beginning in late-2013. After a pilot assembly of 2,000 vehicles, GTA plans to establish another assembly facility for the sedan and expects to create 200 additional jobs in the United States.

“JAC is recognized worldwide for the caliber and quality of its manufacturing. GTA’s innovative electric powertrain is a perfect fit for JAC’s EV platform, which has won numerous national awards in China,” said Charles Wang, Chairman and CEO, GreenTech Automotive. “Our meetings clearly revealed that there was good synergy between the JAC platforms and our technology and both companies immediately understood that a strategic partnership is in each company’s best interest.”

Executives from both companies began high-level strategic meetings in 2012, including multiple visits to each other’s assembly facilities and in-depth technical reviews and marketing planning discussions. The agreement was finalized in March and announced at the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition.

“The GTA partnership is of great significance to JAC,” said Jing An, chairman and CEO, JAC. “GTA has quickly proven its adeptness with a proven advanced technology and expertise as an EV developer with a growing distribution network. We believe this partnership represents a win-win for both our companies.”

“The five-passenger sedan is a natural complement to our two-passenger MyCar product line,” said Marianne McInerney, executive vice president, sales and marketing, GTA. “The MyCar, which offers consumers a fun, affordable driving experience, is already seeing strong response, achieving distribution agreements for the sale of more than 30,000 units over the next three years.

The JAC-GTA partnership allows us to expand our product line-up with a sedan and allows us to offer the GTA technology with great amenities and room for five passengers while adhering to our philosophy of being price competitive.”

If you have any additional questions regarding this offer, would like to visit our factory or need additional information on MyCar 2013 or the new GTA All-Electric Sedan, please contact Marianne.Mcinerney@wmgta.com.

The University of Virginia’s Department of Parking & Transportation and Facilities Management have partnered with Kyle Smalkowski, a fourth-year student in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, to install a new level-two EV charger, the first of it’s kind in the Charlottesville area, at the University’s Central Grounds Parking Garage at 400 Emmet Street in Charlottesville. The University is set to open the station, which was funded by grants from the Parents Committee and Student Council’s Green Initiatives Funding Tomorrow program, at an event on Friday, April 26th at 10 a.m. on the second level of the parking garage.

The charging station, located next to the elevators in the garage, will be available for University visitors with electric vehicles. The station will be able to charge one electric vehicle at a time and each customer is limited to four hours. The station will pull approximately 7.2 kilowatts from the garage’s grid, which will be partially offset by a solar panel array that Facilities Management installed on the roof. The solar array will feed electricity into the garage’s electric grid.

Michael Phillips, who heads up VCC’s electric vehicle initiatives, will be on hand to provide remarks at the opening. “As of this month, the commonwealth of Virginia currently has 2,006 registered electric vehicles,” Phillips said. “This is a substantial increase of around 700 percent from just one year ago.” Michael will be joining Allen Groves, UVA associate vice president and dean of students; and Smalkowski to celebrate the opening. Mr. Groves will be performing the first official plug-in as part of the festivities.

For more information about the charging station and this opening event, contact Michael Phillips at 434-760-4485 or mphillips@vacleancities.org.

Join Advanced Energy for their first Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEV) 2013 Webinar series hosted through the NC PEV Taskforce. This virtual lunch and learn will be held at 12pm on Tuesday, April 30th. Registration is now open.

Alternative Fuel Tax Credit and Incentives Workshop
Tuesday, February 26th
10:00 am-1:00 pm

Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants
4309 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060
Room A

In light of the recent passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act, please join Virginia Clean Cities and the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants to discuss how your business, fleet, or government organization can better understand taxes, and  take advantage of  tax credits and incentives as you consider alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure.

This event is FREE and includes a complimentary lunch supported by sponsorship. Lunch will also feature a Virginia Clean Cities stakeholder discussion. Additional sponsorship opportunities include a table display at the event for a sponsor donation of $100. This is your chance to let us know how we can help you make the transition to clean, domestic fuels!

AGENDA 9:30- Coffee

10:00-Welcome Stephanie Peters, CAE, President & CEO, Virginia Society of CPAs

10:15- Alternative Fuel Technology Overview Michael Phillips, Virginia Clean Cities

10:45- Alternative Fuel Tax Credits and Incentives Mike Locher, CPA, Dixon Hughes Goodman, Tax Advisory Services

12:00- Lunch

12:30- Optional Virginia Clean Cities Stakeholder Meeting Alleyn Harned, Virginia Clean Ctites 

For questions or to sponsor, please contact Michael Phillips at (804)482-1790 or at mphillips@vacleancities.org by 2/22/13

To register, click here.

According to a new report “Where Your Money Goes” by Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the average American spends $22,000 to pay for gasoline over the lifetime of the vehicle. That’s about as much as some people spend on the cars themselves!

President Obama doesn’t like this equation at all. In this week’s State of the Union address, the president proposed a new Energy Security Trust that would use funds generated by oil and gas revenues on public lands to invest in advanced vehicle technology that will “shift our cars and trucks off oil for good.”

Read the rest of this entry »

After years of  waiting, electric vehicles (EVs) have finally arrived. Automakers have delivered their models, like Nissan with their Leaf, GM with their Chevy Volt and Mitsubishi with their i-MiEV car, to dealership centers across the nation.

If you’re contemplating switching to electric now, these tips should help you decide.

They’re Within Your Range

Electric cars often get a bad rap for having a shorter driving range then their gasoline-powered counterparts. This lack of range is known to cause ‘range anxiety’ a leading reason why not all Americans have hopped on the EV bandwagon.

But here’s a fact for you: The average American spends 55 minutes a day behind the wheel, totaling about 29 miles a day, the Bureau of Transportation reported.

However, most of the new generation EVs, such as the 2012 Leaf and 2013 Ford Electric, can drive at least 73 miles per charge, according to Fueleconomy.gov. If your daily commute includes only a short drive to work and a few errands on your lunch break, the range of the EV shouldn’t be an issue.  Chargers are also increasingly prevent with more than 100 public spots in Virginia alone.

All the Perks

Federal and local governments are backing EV technology and pushing through incentives that make purchasing them cost-competitive. Not only do most electric cars qualify for tax credit, but many will get you free parking, reduced registration fees and carpool privileges.

No More Tune Ups

With an EV, you won’t need to worry about scheduling regular oil changes including air filters, spark plugs and fan belts all which cause common maintenance repairs for gas-powered vehicles. EVs rely on their batteries and regenerative braking to power the car. However, lithium-ion batteries lose capacity over time, new and used car dealerships have enough confidence in the technology to offer extensive warranties that cover the Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt and the Ford Focus batteries.

Talk About Fuel Efficiency

When it comes to fuel efficiency, EVs are measured in MPGe (or MPGge) the gasoline/electric equivalent. To put this in perspective for you, the 2013 Toyota Corolla a car powered by gasoline gets 30-combined city and highway MPG. The 2013 Mitsubishi i-MiEV an all-electric vehicle gets 112 combined city and highway MPGe. According to Fueleconomy.gov, it costs $2.80 to drive the Corolla 25 miles. It cost $0.90 to power the i-MiEV for the same distance. Not only are EVs fuel efficient, but I’d say they’re cost effective, too.

Safe and Secure

High gas prices? Not a problem. Increasing dependence on foreign oil? You’re not contributing. Natural disaster? You can still drive and fuel wherever power is available. Unlike conventional cars, EVs are unaffected by oil strikes or gasoline shortage or foreign oil price spikes. Drive feeling safe and secure knowing you aren’t funding oil corporations in countries overseas while spending hundreds a month at the gas pump.

This posting is contributed by Courtney Davis An engineer and car-show enthusiast, Courtney is always trying to find environmentally safe alternatives to the products that make cars optimally perform. She is a strong advocate of hybrids and cars that use alternative energy sources.

Mayor Jones performed the Richmond Omni Hotel's first official electric vehicle plug-in on Wednesday, October 17.

Virginia Clean Cities and Richmond Electric Vehicle Initiative (REVi) coordinator, Michael Phillips, hosted the forum on electric vehicles.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones performed the Richmond Omni Hotel’s first official plug-in last Wednesday following the Business Case for Electric Vehicle Charging Station Forum, hosted by the hotel and Virginia Clean Cities. The forum provided an overview of electric vehicles and made the case for installing electric vehicle charging stations – the $2,000 charger installed in the Omni Hotel has already paid for itself in guests that solely chose the hotel for the need to recharge their cars.

To read the entire announcement, click here.

For NPR coverage, click here.

For Richmond Times-Dispatch coverage, click here.