When the U.S. Congress passed H.R. 1424 and President Bush signed it into law today, not everyone was paying attention to the part about plug-in vehicles. Sure, this got a little play - and green car sites like ours were on it - but what's a few $7,500 tax credits in a $700 billion bill? Still, there are a lot of parts to the bill (read one take here) to digest and we're happy to explore the green car-related details a bit.

If you want to read the language in the bill yourself, you can find the full text here (do a text search for "plug" to find the applicable PHEV part of the law, Section 205). As meme noted earlier today, the language now refers to "plug-in electric drive motor vehicle" instead of the "passenger automobiles," which might help companies like Aptera. We know that Chrysler yesterday gave its support for the legislation and today the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) gave strong vocal support to the bill's passage. You can read both of the official statements after the jump.

When you read the bill, don't miss Section 306 (regarding smart meters) and Section 103 (extension of solar and fuel cell tax credits). I'm quite interested in how the AutoblogGreen community feels about this bill.


[Source: EDTA, Chrysler, Govtrack]

Part of the Electric Drive Transportation Association's (EDTA) reason for being is to convince lawmakers to support electric-drive vehicles. That's what those May radio spots were about and that's what EDTA president Brian Wynne will be doing next week when he testifies before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on "the current state of vehicles powered by the grid and the prospects for wider deployment in the near future." If you're interested in how the EDTA views plug-in, hybrid, and hydrogen-powered vehicles in the currenty energy policy debate, you can listen on on the Committee's website starting at 10 a.m. EST on Tuesday, September 16th (we have our own plans for that particular moment) and check the EDTA's website for prepared testimony sometime before the hearing begins.

[Source: EDTA]

In April, the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) started targeting 580,000 movers and shakers in the Washington, D.C. area who listen to WTOP, 103.5 FM with a series of ads called "The Electric Drive." You can now listen to the EDTA's ads online to see how this major partnership is trying to explain electric drive to the masses. Brian Wynne, the EDTA president, wrote in an email that the radio campaign and the EDTA's Earth Day Congressional briefing were quite effective in getting the word out. Wynne described the hearing as "standing-room only" and that one of the specific goals of the EDTA Policy Committee is to build support for a plug-in vehicle tax credit this year. EDTA is also working with lawmakers to ensure that the Department of Energy will continue to fund electric drive research and development in FY09. Promoting EVs and hybrids and PHEVs has got to be something of an easy sell in a time of $120+ barrels of oil, but it still takes a good amount of effort to make people understand how electric cars will/might change our future. I mean, Toyota reps still have to reassure people that you don't need to plug in a Prius. Read Wynne's full email after the jump.

Starting this month, the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) will begin running a series of radio ads called "The Electric Drive" on the Washington, D.C. station WTOP, 103.5 FM. The station will also host a website that describes what the EDTA is and what electric drive vehicles are. On April 22 (that's Earth Day), the EDTA will also hold a Capitol Hill Briefing titled "The Electric Drive Answer: Transportation Technologies & Policies to End Oil Dependence" where EDTA members will talk about the "latest advances and the federal policies that can accelerate commercialization of electric drive."

Brian Wynne, the EDTA president, wrote that this campaign marks the EDTA's move to the mainstream, which is kind of a big term considering this is just one station we're talking about. Sure, a "a well-known radio personality" will drive hybrid vehicles provided by EDTA members (what, no Hydrogen 7s were available?), but I don't quite see how WTOP is going to bring the electric drive word to the masses - am I missing how important this station is? Read Wynne's full email after the jump.

Many of you were critical of USA Today for publishing an article recently about a study on the relative cleanliness of plug-in vehicles. Those of you who joined the criticism have something in common with the Electric Drive Transportation Association, which has sent a letter to USA Today's editor that calls the article misleading and
pointing out items that the reporter, James Healey, minimized in his article. EDTA president Brian Wynne also sent out an email (read it after the break) that describes his organization's displeasure with Healey's piece. His email is more directly critical of the article, saying it "used selected information, creating unlikely scenarios and misleading implications about grid-powered transportation." Wynne writes that the electric drive community was unified in its criticism to the USA Today piece, a unification that will probably be tested more and more as new people try to understand what it means to have a plug on a car.

As I was cleaning out my digital files and getting ready for the Detroit Auto Show that starts for us media folks this weekend, I noticed I have a few EVS23 items left to process and post. I'll try to the them all up before NAIAS overwhelms us, but the one I have for you now is an interview I did with EDTA head Brian Wynne just as the show was ending. Wynne was quite pleased with the giant electric drive conference and expo, something you can hear for yourself here (9 min, 6MB). We were interrupted briefly during out talk, and you'll notice where it is on the recording by the way it jumps at one point.

You can also get an idea of what Wynne thought about the symposium by what he said in an email following the end of the event:

The success associated with EVS-23 was also unprecedented. More than 1,500 electric drive experts from around the world came together to share the latest information regarding technology and market developments. An additional 700 visitors joined us for public day to view 125 exhibits on the show floor and hear from local mayors, as well as from a forum of leading authors on energy policy.

With more than 37 countries represented, EVS-23 was truly global in its scope. Media coverage was extensive, with more than 90 accredited media working the show. If you were not able to attend, but would like to get a sense of the high-voltage energy that was in the air, please check out our wrap-up video, which was shot at the event.

All in all, let's just say that everyone's looking forward to EVS24, which will be in Norway in 2009.

Note: The picture above shows a plastic cup that was part of the breakfast tablesettings. I thought it was a nice touch.

Earlier this month the British company Smith Electric Vehicles announced it will bring its electric trucks to the U.S. A message out from the Electric Drive Transportation Association (a trade group) yesterday shows that Smith is serious about its American presence. Smith is one of four new EDTA members; the others are Duke Energy, EnerDel and K2 Energy Solutions. You can read more about these companies after the jump, but let's just note once again the trend of electric companies who are keen to speak out in favor of EVs (see this for another example).

The EDTA is a group of companies and other entities that works to promote electric drive vehicles, whether these EVs are powered by batteries, hydrogen fuels fells or gasoline-electric engines. We covered last year's EDTA conference in depth (read the posts here) and willl keep an eye on what these new additions bring to the next conference later this year.

[Source: EDTA]

As I mentioned earlier today, the FREEDOM Act language regarding tax incentives for Americans looking to convert their hybrids to plug-in versions was stripped out of the energy bill that ended up passing in the U.S. Senate. Toyota made their claim for why PHEVs are a bad idea, and in my inbox today was the newsletter from the EDTA, and it included this bit from EDTA President Brian Wynne regarding the reason that part of the bill was removed:

"Late last week, the Senate passed its energy bill after defeating a carefully crafted tax package, which contained a plug-in electric drive vehicle credit that EDTA played a major role in putting together. The cause of this setback had nothing to do with electric drive; rather, it was the controversial tax provisions paying for the tax package that proved to be the insurmountable hurdle that day. The effort is far from over, though, and we are continuing to promote our tax priorities in both Houses and on both sides of the aisle."

So, a lot of those technical reasons that Toyota brought up in their letter to the Senate might not hold as much water as they'd hoped. CalCars wil be happy, and where does this leave Toyota?

[Source: EDTA]

Altair Nanotechnologies and American Electric Power have joined the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA). The EDTA promotes electric drive (which means hybrids, battery electrics, and fuel cell) vehicles, and members of the association meet each year to promote their work. Last year, the conference was in Washington, D.C. I'm not sure if Altair and AEP have joined as small business or general members, but either way, expect to see them at the EVS 23 conference in Anaheim later this year.

The official announcement from EDTA is after the break.

Related:

• Miles Automotive, Segway and ZENN join EDTA
• EDTA Conference: Final Overview

[Source: EDTA]

The Electric Drive Transportation Association doesn't only promote vehicles that run purely on electric power. The EDTA likes vehicles that use even a little bit of electric power, combined perhaps with hydrogen, liquid fuel (hybrids) or something else. In a new advocacy piece out this week, the EDTA says that electric drive technologies are "integral to addressing the national security and global environmental challenges associated with oil dependence." You can read the whole thing here.

Similar to the things we heard at last year's EDTA conference, this advocacy "snapshot" calls for new federal funds to furthre related research and development (things like hydrogen fuel cells, better batteries, and PHEVs), performance-based tax incentives, and deploying more electric-drive vehicles and making related infrastructure mainstream. It's certainly a laundry list of wishes from the Feds. The location of last year's conference was just blocks away from Capital Hill in an effort to get the ear of elected officials. I'm sure a lot of them are listening.

Related:

• Miles Automotive, Segway and ZENN join EDTA

[Source: EDTA]

The Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) grew a little bit larger this week with the inclusion of Miles Automotive Group, Segway, Inc., and the ZENN Motor Company. All of these companies – and the EDTA itself – should be familiar to AutoblogGreen readers and apparently Miles, ZENN and Segway decided it made sense to pay a few thousand dollars to join the EDTA. You can see a full list of EDTA members here.

The EDTA promotes hybrids and fuel cell vehicles as well as pure-electric, and I can only hope that the official inclusion of Miles and ZENN (both were well represented at last year's EDTA conference) means more chances to get EVs into the public eye.

Related:

• Tesla Motors joins Electric Drive Transportation Association

[Source: EDTA]

AutoblogGreen gave a lot of digital ink to the last Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) conference, held in late November in Washington, D.C. In preparation for the major EDTA conference EVS 23 – which will be held in Anaheim, CA this coming December under the theme "Sustainability: The Future of Transportation" – the EDTA has put out a call for papers and is already offering exhibition space. EVS 23 will take place over three days and will include a public ride and drive with battery, hybrid and fuel cell electric cars. I know EDTA conference attendees read AutoblogGreen, and you're the crowd that submits papers and drives the EV industry. So, if you haven't seen the list of topics for EVS 23, they are:

• Vehicles and Transportation Systems
• Rechargeable Energy Storage Systems
• Fuel Cells
• Propulsion Systems and Subsystems
• Infrastructure
• Energy and Environment
• Demonstration and Market Issues
• Public Policy

The deadline for submissions is February 16, and you can find all the details you'll need to apply at the EDTA website.

[Source: EDTA]

The chairman and owner of Miles Automotive, Miles Rubin, gave a presentation at the EDTA Conference that was refreshing because it wasn't a PowerPoint slideshow. I admit those slides are a great way to show graphs and charts to a large audience, but they're also pretty boring. When Rubin got up to speak, he just launched into his and his company's reasons for being in the electric drive business.

Readers will know about Miles Automotive from their OR70 NEV, but Rubin announced that at the Los Angeles Auto Show in late 2007 the company would have something new to show, probably the XS200. This new car probably won't be NHTSA certified at that time, but if it's anything like the car that Rubin said is his company's goal car, then people will be enthused anyway. This goal car can reach highway speeds, has a 200-mile range and has an on-board charger for a battery that lasts 125,000 miles. The estimated price for the XS200 is $28,500. The reason for building a car like this are obvious, Rubin said: electric make sense because the infrastructure exists; if we wanted to, we could make clean electricity; and hydrocarbon emissions are an "absolute disaster" that our children will have to deal with, but we can start working on the problem now.

Rubin said Miles Automotive is working with Chinese battery makers not because labor there is cheaper, but because those companies are "doing wonders" with lithium-ion batteries that are safe and have the range required (Miles' low-speed OR70 has a range of about 70 miles).

Related:

• Chinese-made Miles OR70 NEV drawing interest on East Coast

Understanding the confluence of the electric drive industry and the U.S. government is at the heart of the EDTA Conference this week. During a working session on Wednesday, a half dozen speakers dissected ways governments of various jurisdictions (city, state and federal) can and do support electric drive vehicles. Here're the highlights.

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), a taxpayer-funded utility company, hasn't met an alternative energy source it doesn't like. Bill Boyce, SMUD's electric transportation supervisor, said SMUD has supported EVs at the local airport, has worked to restrict truck idling activities, and is constructing a photovoltaic-powered hydrogen fueling station. SMUD is also big into plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). The utility is testing converted Prius vehicles (see below), supports Plug-in Partners, and is helping to test EPRI's Dodge Sprinter Vans (which are medium-sized delivery vans that, according to DaimlerChrysler's Dominique Portmann, get about 26 mpg in the most recent versions). SMUD is even studying how light rail can better store regenerative braking energy.

The story continues after the jump.

Almost right on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington D.C. this morning, a small collection of electric vehicles sat attracting attention. A Honda FCX, a GEM, a new ZENN, GM's HydroGen-3, Hyundai's Tuscon FCEV and a few others. Joggers stopped to ask what the ranges of the fuel cell vehicles were, government officials came by to go for rides, and attendees of the 2006 Electric Drive Transportation Association Conference & Exposition lined up to take the cars out for a spin. So did I. There's more pictures and a brief write-up after the jump.