Eco-friendly Electric Cars Coming to Arizona

The electric car buzz is growing across Arizona. Phoenix and Tucson are among the first cities in the country where new electric cars from Nissan and Ford will be available to customers, and plans are underway to support the rollout of the eco-friendly new cars.

Green technology

Arizona is one of five states where the new plug-in Nissan Leaf is first being sold to consumers.

"Electricity is the new fuel for cars, and the Nissan Leaf has the potential to transform the automotive industry and the way people drive," says Carlos Tavares, chairman, Nissan Americas. "Drivers in Arizona have the freedom to choose a future that produces zero tailpipe emissions, moves away from our dependence on fossil fuels, and represents the end of trips to the gas station."

Meanwhile, the Ford Motor Company has announced that it will debut its new plug-in Ford Focus Electric in 19 cities this fall, including Tucson and Phoenix.

One of the reasons the two Arizona cities were chosen was the ambitious plan to build a network of electric car charging stations in the state. Phoenix and Tucson are two of the markets in 17 states where a group called ECOtality has partnered with the Department of Energy for a $230 million project to install the eco-friendly charging stations for electric cars.

Approximately 100 of the charging stations are initially planned for Arizona, with 80 percent to be installed in the Phoenix market at locations such as shopping malls and parking lots, with 20 more stations to be installed in Tucson.

"The rich EV infrastructure that we will create in Arizona will create a valuable test bed, yielding priceless data that will allow us to build a network that best meets the needs of EV drivers," says Don Karner, president of ECOtality North America.

Going green

Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks will have solar-powered electric car chargers at Chase Field in time for the MLB All Star Game in July. A large canopy on the west side of the stadium will shade fans from the sun as they approach the ticket booths. While providing much-needed shade, the large solar array will also be collecting solar energy to power the car chargers.

"If you're coming to the ball park and have an electric car, you can charge your car there. That's the concept," says Dan Wolf, spokesman for APS, the local power company.
Not sure if you want to invest in an electric car? Enterprise Rent A Car will rent Nissan Leafs to customers in Phoenix and Tucson as part of a 500-car pilot program.

"Purchase demand for electric vehicles has been impressive, and we anticipate similar demand from rental customers," says Jeff Morrell, vice president of Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

While you're out driving your rented electric car, feel free to avoid traffic. Arizona is one of seven states that allow drivers of electric cars to use High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes at any time, regardless of how many people are in the car.

Eco-friendly charging stations

As part of a growing trend among national retailers going green, Best Buy is installing electric car charging stations at 12 stores nationwide - including locations in Phoenix and Tucson.

"This is a small experiment in 12 stores, and it's part of a broader experiment that investigates where this technology is going for consumers," says Best Buy spokeswoman Kelly Groehler. "We've been out there with other electric vehicle experiments, and this is the latest in play."

The retail trend includes local store chains as well. Three Bookmans locations in Tucson and Mesa have installed electric car chargers at their used book and record stores.

"I'm thrilled to finally do this," says Bookmans founder Bob Oldfather. "I liken this a lot to recycling. We all started it 20 or so years ago and it didn't make economic sense. This is the same kind of thing. It doesn't quite make economic sense yet. But that's why people have to step up and do it, and battery technology will get better, more people will have electric."