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Industry Initiatives

Going Electric

We're already testing and using electric vehicles in our fleet – and plan to buy more. In 2009, we made a commitment at the Clinton Global Initiative that by 2020 all new vehicle purchases will be electric vehicles. This represents an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars and has the potential to significantly reduce fleet costs and greenhouse emissions over the next 10 years.

Industry Collaboration

To advance the progress of plug-in electric vehicles and better understand their impacts on our grid, we are working with leading companies in the industry as well as local organizations. These joint efforts include community education, research to better understand the different types of electric vehicles, and developing new options in charging stations.

North Carolina and South Carolina

  • In North Carolina, Duke Energy and Duke Energy Progress are actively involved in two major PEV readiness initiatives; NC Get Ready and the NC PEV Taskforce. These initiatives are helping prepare communities in NC for the adoption of electric vehicles.
  • North Carolina was awarded a $500K grant from the Department of Energy to create a state-wide PEV Readiness plan. Duke Energy is a key stakeholder in this effort. Entitled NC Readiness Initiative: Plugging in from Mountains to Sea, Duke Energy is working with the Centralina Clean Fuels Clean Coalition and other organizations throughout our service territory.
  • In North Carolina, Duke Energy sponsors training for First Responders, which educates emergency personnel about PEVs, the location of each vehicles’ battery and how to respond in critical situations.
  • Chrysler Group LLC, working in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), delivered eight demonstration-fleet Chrysler Town & Country plug-in hybrid minivans and eight Dodge Ram plug-in hybrid trucks to Duke Energy. The deployment is part of an ongoing two-year study of the technology's real-world performance in a PHEV minivan and truck application.
  • In South Carolina, Duke Energy has been a supporter of Plug-In Carolina, a not-for-profit organization in South Carolina focused on electric transportation education and readiness initiatives.
  • Duke Energy, Siemens, and Ford are working to enhance the “smart” capabilities of the current Siemens level 2 residential charging stations to enable connectivity to a smart meter infrastructure, and giving customers the ability to provide in-home displays of charging information via connected PCs and web-enabled phones.
  • Duke Energy, Eaton, and Toyota have partnered to develop smart-grid-enabled charging stations for commercial applications that will enable multiple two-way communications features to help reduce and manage charging costs for businesses.
  • In January 2012, Duke Energy Progress completed a three-year trial with Ford Motor Company using Ford Escape PHEVs, and in Florida Duke Energy will complete a similar trial in September 2012. These trials test Ford PHEV technology and smart-charging systems, and allow us to compare the performance of factory-built and converted PHEVs.

Kentucky

  • We are testing charging stations and PEVs at our Envision Center in Erlanger, KY.

Ohio

  • The Clean Fuels Ohio organization received a 500K grant from the Department of Energy to create a PEV Readiness Plan for Ohio. The objectives of the project are to develop local, regional and statewide plans and implement policies that support the deployment of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) and electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Ohio. Duke Energy will participate as a key stakeholder to share what we have learned from other states as well as provide input into electric supply reliability.

Florida

Research Partners

Duke Energy has also partnered up with other local and national organizations for further PEV research and community education, including:

Advanced Energy
Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition
Charlotte Center City Partners
Central Florida Clean Cities Coalition
Clean Fuels Ohio
Edison Electric Institute (EEI)
Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA)
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
Land of Sky Regional Council
NC Department of Commerce
NC Solar Center
Palmetto State Clean Fuels Coalition
Piedmont Triad Regional Council
Plugin Carolina
Project Get Ready Indianapolis
Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council
Triangle Clean Cities Coalition
Triangle Get Ready Initiative
Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research
N.C. State Advanced Transportation Energy Center
Ohio State Center for Automotive Research
Purdue University State Utility Forecasting Group
Rose Hulman Institute of Technology