Electric Car Charging Stations to Begin Opening in East TN

(material from Knoxville News Sentinel)

East Tennesseans driving electric cars will soon be able to charge up their vehicles at a network of 350 stations throughout the Knoxville area. The publicly accessible electric vehicle (EV) charging stations will begin to open in September.

The project is being supported by the city of Knoxville, Knox County, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Knoxville Utilities Board and the Tennessee Valley Authority. The partners are part of an EV project involving ECOtality, Nissan North America and General Motors/Chevrolet that calls for the deployment of more than 8,000 new Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt electric vehicles and about 15,000 charging stations across the nation.

For more on this topic, see the full Knoxville News Sentinel article
here.

Clean Diesel Programs

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Clean Diesel Campaign is the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) program will soon open its grant program, funded through ARRA. The deadline for proposals will be April 27, 2009. ARRA funding for DERA grants will focus on promoting economic recovery, preserving and/or creating jobs, and reducing diesel emissions. Early information about the DERA grant program can be found on the EPA National Clean Diesel Campaign website at www.epa.gov/otaq/eparecovery/prognational.htm. EPA Region IV estimates that approximately $19 million will be available for projects in the southeastern region.

Please check out the National Clean Diesel Campaign website if you are interested in looking for collaborative projects to serve your area. Some of the eligible projects, such as diesel retrofits, would provide 100 percent funding. DERA funds may also be used to cover the incremental cost of biodiesel above the cost of conventional diesel. It is expected that proposed projects could include a broad reach of diesel engines, including ports, airports, locomotives, agricultural pumps and off-road equipment as well as transit buses, school buses, etc. This could be an excellent opportunity to do some significant projects to address harmful diesel emissions, as well as to bring much needed stimulus funding into your area.