Hydro-Quebec and Mitsubishi partner on 50-car EV trial
Friday, January 15th, 2010
Quebec is an obvious place to introduce electric cars on a large scale. Its power mostly comes from hydroelectric facilities and, culturally, it’s more European than North American in many ways. It’s little surprise then that Mitsubishi has chosen to team up with Hydro-Quebec on a large electric-vehicle trial that will see 50 of its i-MiEVs tested in a variety of conditions, particularly cold and snowy winter conditions. The estimated cost of the project is $4.5 million, and the vehicles will be integrated into existing commercial fleets operating in the City of Boucherville. The project, to launch this fall, is “the first of its kind to include the participation of a car manufacturer, a public utility, a municipality and local businesses that will integrate the vehicles into their existing fleets,” Hydro-Quebec said in a statement, adding that the trial will help the utility plan for the charging infrastructure required in homes, offices and public spaces.
Would love to see a trial of this size announced in Ontario, though I’m guessing something is in the works. BTW: Just to get it on the record, Tesla Motors said today it has built its 1,000th vehicle, an impressive milestone. The company, meanwhile, has its new Model S on display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Tesla will start producing the lower cost Model S (roughly $50,000 after government rebates) in 2012.
Tyler Hamilton is editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights magazine and a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.
