Renault-Nissan Alliance Signs EV Charging Deal With San Diego's Power Utility

Renault-Nissan Alliance Signs EV Charging Deal With San Diego's Power Utility

By John O'Dell March 23, 2009

Huge Region Becomes 5th in U.S. To Help as Nissan Preps for 2010 EV Launch 

Add California's southernmost big city, San Diego, to the growing list of places plugging into the Renault-Nissan Alliance's effort to promote an electric vehicle battery-charging infrastructure to coincide with the launch of the EV it has promised for next year.

Just weeks after announcing that it signed an EV promotional pact with the Tuscon, Arizona, metropolitan area's regional government association, the Renault-Nissan Alliance this morning is unveiling a similar deal with San Diego Gas & Electric. The public utility that supplies power to a 4,100 square-mile region with a population of 3.4 million.

The joint agreements the auto-making partners are executing with utility and government groups around the country (and in a number of foreign countries as well) call for Nissan and Renault to aid the entities in the acquisition of electric vehicles and to work with them to promote installation of an EV charging infrastructure as well as use and understanding of the vehicles.

The government and utility groups in turn agree to take the necessary actions -- including changes in zoning laws and building permit policies when necessary -- to make it easier for privately or publicly owned EV charging stations to be installed in convenient locations.

The San Diego deal specifically calls for the automaker and the utility to work together to "implement and maintain" a battery charging network. Officials from San Diego's city government and several other area entities including San Diego County's association of governments, were on hand for the announcement, an indication of regional support for the plan.

The San Diego announcement also kicks off what Nissan Motor Co. is calling a coast-to-coast tour of its electric vehicle prototype: A late-model Nissan Cube converted to electric drive.

The vehicle will be used to give government officials and others a taste of what driving an EV can be like, but Nissan has said, repeatedly, that the Cube won't be the vehicle that it electrifies for production. The 2010 Nissan EV, the company has said, will be an all-new vehicle that doesn't share its looks, or drivetrain, with any other vehicle in the Nissan lineup.

Other U.S. locales that have signed EV infrastructure development agreements with the Renault-Nissan Alliance are the states of Oregon and Tennessee (where Nissan maintains its North American headquarters); the Tucson region and Sonoma County in Northern California's fabled wine-growing region -- a well-visited area that could benefit from a reduction in tailpipe pollution.

"We are proud to be embarking on this clean transportation initiative with Nissan," Debra L. Reed, SDG&E president and chief executive, said in a statement this morning. "This collaborative effort is the first step in making San Diego plug-in ready. We're excited about creating new job opportunities for our region and furthering San Diego's vision of being at the center of growth for clean technologies."

The Renault-Nissan Alliance also has signed EV infrastructure planning and development deals with the governments of  Israel, Denmark, Portugal, and Monaco, Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture and the City of Yokohama, French electric utility company EDF, and two private British firms, the car-rental company Greentomatocars, and zero-emission transport system company Elektromotive.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.