Nissan, San Francisco to Collaborate on Network of Residential Charging Stations
By Scott Doggett December 8, 2009
Nissan North America's nationwide tour to promote its forthcoming electric sedan, the Leaf, cruised through the SDan Francisco Bay Area Monday, stopping long enough to sign an agreement with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom on developing a local charging infrastructure there.
The plan is to collaborate on a network of residential charging stations that Nissan hopes will ease consumer fears about electric cars and how to fuel them. As part of that agreement, the car company also agreed to make the Bay Area among the first retail markets to receive the car in 2011 or 2012.
Tracy Woodard, director of government affairs at Nissan, said the idea is to help San Francisco County and eight other counties in the region "get the kinks out" in terms of permitting construction of charging units in residences and offices.
"We want to make sure the home and workplace are taken care of first," said Woodard, explaining that Nissan's research indicates that about 80 percent of all charging will take place in the home or office.
A larger public infrastructure of charging stations would come later, she said, after demand drives local governments and power suppliers to build a network away from home and office charging facilities. "That's up to the city and all the different localities," Woodard said. "We think the public infrastructure is going to be there."
Because the Leaf's range is about 100 miles, Nissan appears to be making a bet on urban drivers content to make most of their trips locally. Experts in the industry say that means families would likely regard the Leaf as option No. 2 in a two-car household.
Nissan has made similar agreements with a number of cities in California, including San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose and Oakland. The automaker has also committed to helping with infrastructure plans in Oregon, Tennessee, Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
Newsom, no longer a candidate for governor in California after a few tough months politically, appeared eager Monday to step back into a comfortable niche of promoting green technology and the Bay Area's desire to lead in developing electric vehicles.
He hailed the Nissan visit and agreement as proof that the city is working to make the Bay Area "the nation's EV capital."
"We are making every effort to have the infrastructure ready when the Nissan Leaf arrives, and we are extremely pleased to have Nissan as a collaborative partner in making that happen," Newsom said during an event with Nissan outside City Hall.
In a news release, his office said Nissan will help set up a process to help customers install charging equipment in their homes. The mayor's office views the agreement as a pilot program that would apply to other electric models, in addition to the Leaf.
About half of San Francisco's greenhouse-gas emissions are from its transportation sector. The city recently received $1 million in federal dollars to support electric-vehicle programs.
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