The Renault-Nissan Alliance today announced that Nissan and Pima Association of Governments (PAG), which represents the Tucson region, are forming a partnership to advance zero-emission mobility by promoting the development of an electric vehicle (EV) charging network. ECOtality Inc., a Scottsdale, Ariz., clean electric transportation and storage technologies company, also will participate in the partnership by working to facilitate the process of helping make the Tucson Metro Area EV-ready.

The bays, called Elektrobays, provide easy access for charging a vehicle. They are typically located within a short distance of parking spaces and provide a secure, weather-proof attachment to the vehicle. The Elektrobays provide up to 240 volts and 16 amps of power depending upon which country they are installed in. They are accessed through a key fob and lock shut during use to prevent tampering.

Mr. Perry said the Nissan, running on a lithium ion battery pack, won’t be a test model. “We’re ready to go mass production and mass sales,” he said. The Nissan official said that while the cost for a conventional vehicle of similar size may range from $28,000 to $30,000, the federal government is offering a tax credit of up to $7,500 on the electric. There also will be other steps to lower the buyer’s initial costs.

Nissan North America wants federal money to help it build more fuel efficient cars. The Franklin-based automaker has applied for part of a 25-billion dollar low-interest loan package that Congress passed earlier this year through its energy bill.

[Senator Lamar Alexander] predicted that Rutherford County would be in the center of the transition from gas to electric transportation.  He was referring to the Nissan assembly plant in Smyrna.  After the talk, Murfreesboro Electric’s General Manager Steve Sax told WGNS News that it would indeed work to re-charge car batteries overnight, because electrical demands are at their lowest then.  Senator Alexander explained that estimates that the vehicle’s battery would last about 100-miles between charges, and that it would cost about 60-cents to re-charge the battery with electricity.  As you recall, last month Nissan and the State of Tennessee entered into an agreement to create zero emission vehicles, which definitely includes electric cars.