UTILITIES BUY INTO EV $600 MIL WORTH

Duke Energy, FPL Group invest $600M in green vehicles
John Downey, September 24, 2009 (Charlotte Business Journal via Triangle Business Journal)

"Duke Energy Corp. and Florida energy supplier FPL Group Inc. plan to convert nearly 10,000 road vehicles in their fleets to electric power by 2020.

"The initiative is expected to pump as much as $600 million into the electric-car industry. And it was Duke Chief Executive Jim Rogers’ second major announcement at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting…Rogers [earlier] announced Duke had signed another agreement with a major Chinese power producer. The memorandum of understanding with ENN Group, China’s largest privately held energy company, focuses on commercial solar-energy projects… the development of clean coal technology…[and] opens up the potential for cooperation on biofuels, energy efficiency and work the Chinese company is doing on using algae…"

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"The electric-vehicle initiative may be a little more standard fare. But it is no less significant.

"Duke and FPL, parent of Florida Power & Light, calculate that converting their fleets to electricity could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 125,000 metric tons over the 10-year commitment…Duke has long been involved in electric-car technology. It was an early investor in Bright Automotive Inc., which hopes to produce an electric van for the corporate fleet market by 2012…"

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"Duke and FPL were casting about for a way to encourage electric-vehicle development…[and hit on the idea of shifting their fleets over]…The companies hope they can provide a market for electric vehicles and encourage other corporations to make similar commitments…

"One key for the companies is to work with manufacturers through 2012 to develop a plug-in electric bucket truck. Such trucks, used to clear and repair lines and transformers on utility poles, are the workhorse of the utility industry…Duke is testing five such hybrid electric trucks. It hopes to test a plug-in electric truck soon. And it has 22 Toyota Priuses as well as three Ford Escape hybrids in its fleet. A handful of those have been converted to plug-in vehicles…Duke has about 4,400 vehicles in its highway fleet that would qualify for the plan…."