Electric Vehicles Charge Up Local and National Events
Have you had the pleasure of driving an electric vehicle? Thanks in part to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s sponsorship and the work of the Denver Metro Clean Cities and Communities Coalition and other coordinating organizations, you'll have that opportunity during National Drive Electric Week, September 15-21, 2014. The event is held nationally to heighten awareness of today's widespread availability of plug-in vehicles and highlight the cost-savings and clean-air benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric cars, trucks, motorcycles, and more.
NREL is sponsoring National Drive Electric Week events in Denver and Boulder. The first local event will be held in Boulder on September 17, from 4-7 p.m. at 13th St. and Canyon Blvd., across from the Boulder Farmers' Market. The second event will take place in Denver on September 20, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Aspen Grove Mall on S. Santa Fe Drive in Littleton.
The Clean Cities and Communities program is working to provide the public with first-hand experience of how plug-in electric vehicles perform and charge so that consumers and fleets can make informed decisions about their next vehicle purchases. This year's National Drive Electric Week activities are expected to draw at least 35,000 attendees nationwide, just as U.S. plug-in vehicle sales are expected to reach their first quarter-million mark.
Electric vehicles are changing the transportation landscape, in ways that have been strongly influenced by the research provided by NREL and other organizations. NREL's vehicles research helps the automotive industry advance energy-efficient and high-performance electric vehicles by providing credible results and solutions to key technology and market challenges. NREL is playing a pivotal role in the U.S. Department of Energy’s EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, which seeks to make plug-in electric vehicles cost competitive with gasoline-powered vehicles without any sacrifice in performance.