Mayor
Annise Parker announces expansion of Electric Vehicle program
Collaboration with ECOtality, Clinton Climate
Initiative (CCI) and the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) will
expedite EV MicroClimate™ planning and provide free private and public
charging infrastructure
The City of Houston is collaborating with ECOtality,
the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) and the Houston Advanced Research
Center (HARC) to expand electric vehicle deployment and charging
infrastructure. The expansion of the program includes creating a
MicroClimate™ Plan for the City of Houston, as well as providing free
residential charging stations to Houston residents who qualify for the
EV Project and purchase an electric Chevrolet Volt, and up to 25 public
charging stations. This builds on the City’s recent partnerships with
Nissan and Reliant Energy.
ECOtality is a leader in clean electric transportation
and storage technologies and as part of a formal partnership with
ECOtality’s EV Project, the City of Houston will assist in the
introduction and expansion of electric vehicles in the Houston area. “Houston
has long been considered the energy capital of the world,” said Mayor
Parker. “With ongoing research and development of wind, solar and
geothermal energy, we are on the cusp of becoming the alternative energy
capital of the world. Our growing partnerships will make it affordable
and easy for Houstonians to embrace cleaner technologies.”
Purchasers of a Chevrolet Volt who qualify for EV
Project participation in Houston will receive a free home charger and
credit toward the installation of the charger. The EV Project will
monitor how these Volt purchasers utilize their vehicles and interface
with their home charging infrastructure. “Data from Volt drivers in
Houston will add another facet to The EV Project’s understanding of
the interaction between electric vehicles and charging infrastructure,”
said Don Karner, President of ECOtality North America and Project
Manager of The EV Project.
In addition to the robust EV planning process and free
residential charging stations for Houstonians, the City is expanding its
commitment to public infrastructure, adding an additional 15 electric
vehicle charging stations downtown, bringing the total to 25 for public
use. The City also intends to purchase 25 more electric vehicles, for a
total of 40 electric ready vehicles in the City’s fleet.
To plan for the electric cars being deployed in
Houston at the end of the year, the City of Houston is partnering with
ECOtality, CCI and HARC to create an EV MicroClimate™ Plan. The
Clinton Climate Initiative, a program of the non-profit William J.
Clinton Foundation, works with governments and businesses around the
world to create and advance solutions to the core issues contributing to
climate change.
The “EV MicroClimate™ Program,” created by
ECOtality, supports jurisdictions in pre-implementation planning for the
deployment of charging infrastructure. This planning process will
include working with all relevant stakeholders to create an assessment,
cost projections, detailed recommendations and a comprehensive action
plan to identify each step needed to convert Houston into a functioning
EV Micro-Climate.
Houston is one of 16 cities that have joined the C40
Electric Vehicle Network, a group of cities that are committed to making
their cities more electric vehicle-friendly. As the delivery partner of
the C40, CCI is helping the C40 Electric Vehicle Network cities,
including Houston, to develop their electric vehicle strategies and
convene and collaborate with key industry stakeholders to facilitate and
accelerate implementation.
“This important step is significant as it builds on
the agreements Houston reached with Nissan and Reliant Energy last year
and is critical to the success of electric vehicle deployment in
Houston,” said Brian Yeoman, Clinton Climate Initiative City Director
for Houston.
