In August 2009, ECOtality’s eTec was awarded a federal grant of nearly $100m from the US Department of Energy to facilitate ‘The EV project’. The grant is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, enacted by Congress and signed by the President last February with the goal of creating thousands of new jobs, preserving existing jobs, and jump-starting the economy.
The EV Project will establish approximately 11,210 electric vehicle charging stations in home-base, commercial and public locations to support the public adoption of plug-in vehicles in major markets in five states: Arizona (Phoenix & Tucson metropolitan areas), Washington (Seattle area), Oregon (Portland, Salem, Corvallis and Eugene), California (San Diego) and Tennessee (Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville).
Nissan has taken the Leaf on a tour of 22 cities in 11 states, as well as the District of Columbia, and the province of Vancouver, Canada.
Jonathan Read, CEO of ECOtality, said: ”The world is watching The EV Project. The electric vehicle infrastructure we build in the United States will allow drivers to make the shift away from fossil fuels towards cleaner and more sustainable transportation.
“As ECOtality prepares the charging infrastructure to support clean electric mobility, we are excited to partner with Nissan to introduce the LEAF to Arizona.”
