What do electric vehicles have to do with winter sports?  Beats me.  But while all of the Shaun White want-to-be’s are checking out snowboards at SnowJam 2011 you can take a run in the new all-electric Nissan Leaf. 

The ‘drive electric tour’ will provide the opportunity to learn all about the Nissan LEAF.  You will be guided through several display areas, have the opportunity to talk with LEAF experts, and explore the many innovations from Nissan including:

· The Nissan LEAF battery system and charging details
· The “sexy science” of the Nissan LEAF and how it compares to other vehicles
· Staying in-touch with your LEAF through your phone or computer
· Fuel efficiency and costs
· Environmental impact
· Meet Nissan LEAF’s helpful accessories
· 100 miles is more than enough!

But the best part of the ‘drive electric tour’ is that you can drive the car for yourself!  You will be able to drive the car on a pre-determined course with a ‘co-pilot’ to answer your questions and show you all of the interior features of the car.

*drive electric tour dates and hours may vary from those of the event/venue dates and hours.

Friday, November 11: 8am-8pm
Saturday, November 12: 9am-6pm
Sunday, November 13: 9am-6pm

Del Mar Fairgrounds, O’Brien Hall
2260 Jimmy Durante Boulevard
Del Mar, CA

Event Entry
Complimentary VIP Entry into the SnowJam San Diego Show is provided to each pre-registered Nissan LEAF guest ($15 admission value, includes free lift ticket to Mountain High Resort; one admission per pre-registered guest). Must register by Wednesday, November 9th, print registration confirmation and turn in at the event ticket counter for entry (must be 18 years of age to test drive).

Parking
Complimentary Parking will be provided to Nissan LEAF pre-registered guests at the Solana Gate entrance to the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Via de la Valle between Jimmy Durante and Hwy 101.  Please print out your test drive reservation to show parking attendant and follow the signs for ‘drive electric tour’ parking.

Here is the link to the Nissan registration site for the event.

In Revenge of the Electric Car, director Chris Paine (Who Killed the Electric Car?) takes his film crew behind the closed doors of Nissan, GM, and the Silicon Valley start-up Tesla Motors to chronicle the story of the global resurgence of electric cars.  A special screening of the documentary will be held November 11th at 6:00pm at the Landmark, Ken Cinema, 4061 Adams Avenue, San Diego.

Joel Pointon, Electric Transportation Manager of San Diego Gas & Electric, David Almeida, Coordinator for the Caifornia PEV Rebate Program (CCSE), and Greg Newhouse, Chairperson of the local Clean Cities Coalition for San Diego, will appear in person to introduce the film and for Q&A after the 6:00pm show.

Cast: Tim Robbins, Bob Lutz, Carlos Ghosn, Elon Musk, Greg “Gadget” Abbott, Danny DeVito, Jon Favreau, Anthony Kiedis, Stephen Colbert, Talulah Riley.   Run time 90 minutes

Click for a hot trailer of Revenge of the Electric Car

Link to Landmark Ken Cinema

Nissan LEAF electric vehicle (EV) rentals are now available to Enterprise Rent-A-Car customers in San Diego at the 7993 Balboa Avenue rental location as part of the nation’s largest EV rental roll-out by Enterprise. There is no refueling cost for returning a vehicle with less than a full charge. 

“The Blink charging station installed by ECOtality at the San Diego Enterprise rental office allows consumers the opportunity to test drive electric vehicles and experience EV operation in an area with ample charging locations,” said Andy Hoskinson, San Diego Area Manager for ECOtality North America.  ECOtality is currently installing approximately 1,000 publicly available Blink charging stations throughout the San Diego region as part of The EV Project. 

A one day rental with no charging cost is a no brainer for anyone thinking about buying a Nissan LEAF.  One day is ample time to try out the LEAF in the traffic and terrain in which you do much of your driving.  You can call the local Enterprise location on Balboa Avenue at 858-560-9050.  They’ll even come pick you up.

If you are too frugal to spring for an electric rental you can wait for the Nissan LEAF drive electric tour which is tentatively scheduled for San Diego on November 11th to 13th.  Click here to add your e-mail to be notified.  The multi-city tour has already begun.  Washington DC is the next stop this Friday.

Another free opportunity is offered by the contractors in the San Diego County Chapter, NECA and their workers in IBEW Local Union 569 who have adopted a community-friendly way to promote their skills in installing and maintaining electrical vehicle supply equipment (EVSE): Electric vehicle drivers are invited to charge their rides any time, at no cost whatsoever with their brand-new solar-powered electric vehicle power station.

The charger is located at the San Diego Electrical Training Center, which is jointly supported by the NECA chapter and the IBEW local. The 32,000 sq. ft. facility in Clairemont Mesa is powered by a rooftop solar array built and maintained by union electricians and trainees. The charging station ties into the buildings electrical supply, so both are running on solar power.  I assume that means DC power from solar to EV without any conversion to AC. 

Big national brand stores are jumping on the EV bandwagon.  IKEA, Walgreens, Macys, Cracker Barrel, Best Buy, Fred Meyer and others are installing charging stations for customer use.  These are in addition to those cropping up at hotels and on university and corporate campuses.  Lowe’s also confirmed this month that it will stock chargers for individuals to install at home. 

San Diego has a culture of technology early adapters.  San Diego has been one of the top markets for hybrid EVs like the Toyota Prius.  California ranks first in Prii sales and second only to Vermont in Prii Per Capita.  (Yes, the plural is Prii).  Hybrid EV owners are predisposed to consider plug-in EVs.

San Diego is one of 16 cities selected under a DOE grant headed by ECOtality to implement the largest-ever rollout of electric vehicle infrastructure.  Federal grants plus matching funds will total $230 million.

Because the ultimate utility of EVs is tied to the establishment of a charging infrastructure, Nissan, Chevy, Ford and others have focused on a limited number of metropolitan regions including San Diego.

San Diego is the #1 solar city in the #1 solar state.  40 percent of Leaf owners have solar panels according to the California Center for Sustainable Energy (Source North County Times). 

San Diego’s terrain and climate is less taxing on EV batteries than much of the U.S.

Successful integration of EVs to the grid is a task of great complexity.  For the past two years, San Diego Gas & Electric’s advancements in smart grid infrastructure has earned them recognition as the most intelligent utility in America by IDC Energy Insights and Intelligent Utility magazine. 

General Electric has partnered with the City of San Diego, San Diego Gas & Electric, the University of California San Diego and CleanTECH San Diego in Smart City San Diego, a public-private collaboration that aims to improve the region’s energy independence, empower consumers to adopt electric vehicles, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and drive economic growth.

To boost use of electric vehicles, the General Services Administration is installing charging stations for government vehicles in San Diego and four other cities.

The University of California, San Diego has been at the center of several major initiatives which are contributing to the region’s growth as a clean energy center.  The EVs which will be used by students, faculty and staff will form a living laboratory of human behavior and technology.

Qualcomm and ECOtality have entered into an agreement to implement cellular connectivity into charging stations. The solution will allow ECOtality to use a commercial cellular network to manage its Blink brand charging station operations, transfer usage data, download firmware updates and publish availability to electric vehicle drivers in real time.

CleanTECH San Diego is an important nexus for regional clean technologies of all types.  You can click through to their website to learn about their crucial mission.  While you are there you can register for the CleanTECH San Diego Electric Vehicle Showcase.  Indy 500 legend and electric vehicle convert Danny Sullivan will be the keynote speaker.  UC San Diego’s Byron Washom will lead a panel including the CEO of Flux Power, Chris Anthony and General Electric’s Michelle Lesh.  Held on the LEED Silver certified Port Pavilion on the Broadway Pier, the Showcase will include a variety of demonstrations of EV technologies and cars. 

Show up on Thursday with a fistful of business cards to network harborside and kick the tires of the EVs that are in the poll position in the race for energy efficient transportation.  Register here today. 

CleanTECH San Diego’s Electric Vehicle Showcase

Date: Thursday June 9, 2011    4 PM to 7 PM

Port Pavillion on Broadway Pier
1000 North Harbor Drive
San Diego, CA 92101

Click here to view Danny Sullivan’s classic moment in Indy 500 history.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there” is frequently included in the preamble of major planning projects.  Muggs Stoll of SANDAG presented an overview of San Diego’s 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP).  SANDAG is the first regional planning agency in California to integrate Green House Gas (GHG) reduction targets and PEVs in its regional plan.  On Friday the SANDAG Board of Directors released the Draft 2050 RTP and its Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS). The release of the Draft 2050 RTP begins the public comment period which will extend through June 30, 2011.

Click to link to the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan.  It is a hefty 313 pages and over 50 mb if you download the PDF as one file.  SANDAG has created a three-minute video entitled “Our Region. Our Future.” about the 2050 RTP.

San Diego won a 1 in 30,000 jackpot when it became a city that both GM Volt and Nissan Leaf electric cars will be introduced in this fall.  Nissan dropped the price bomb last month, the war that promises to be fierce has begun.  Leaf ended up at $20,280 MSRP after a $7,500 Federal Tax break and $5,000 CA Rax rebate (or a $349/month lease).  The price astounded many, including competitors like Mitsubishi that immediately responded by dropping the price for their all-electric iMiev by $6,700. 

Even though the Leaf is priced unexpectedly low, Nissan is still making a profit.  The most expensive component of the car is the battery at $12K, which leaves $20K for the car itself.  The Leaf is an all-electric vehicle with a 100 mile range, while GM Volt is a plug-in hybrid: after 40 all-electric miles an internal combustion engine extends the range to 300 miles.   

GM’s price strategy remains a mystery.  It gets interesting because Nissan will have a significant economy of scale advantage since it plans to build 50K Leafs globally in its first year, and ramp up to 200K by 2014.  The price is a function of production volumes.  The demand depends on the price; likewise the price they set depends on the supply (their production volume).  GM is not planning to come even close to these production numbers, and demand for the Volt will by far outstrip the supply for quite a while. 

Most likely the Volt will be priced higher and advertised as a different class of vehicles, since it’s a complex machine with twice as many parts.  Initially consumers will be much more comfortable with a 300 mile range.  As we move forward and the charging infrastructure is put into place, let’s hope that Nissan’s high volume plans do not short circuit the Volt.

Mariana Gerzanych is CEO of 350Green LLC, a Company that will be installing charging station infrastructure for Electric Cars.  350Green is a partner in the eTec $99.8 mill DOE grant award to electrify the EV infrastructure in 5 markets: San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Phoenix/Tucson and Nashville. “It took us all 5 seconds to decide which city to move the headquarters to” and San Diego has extended a warm welcome. You can find Mariana on Twitter @ukr50 and read more of her musings on www.350Green.com/news.

Check out the Nissan Leaf for yourself at the Town & Country Convention Center in Hotel Circle this Saturday November 21st at 1:00 PM.  Click here for tour details.

Link:  San Diego Alternative Fuels Education Day 2009

Press Release:  November 19, 2009

LA Times article with photo:  Nissan is turning over a new zero-emission Leaf

The Huntington Post article with photos:  Nissan Leaf EV launched in USA