West Tennessee left out of electric car project

Western Tennessee, along with the northeast corner of the state were not included in the planned locations of the first all-electric car charging stations in Tennessee.
But, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga and about 20 smaller towns are set to be part of “The EV Project,’’ a $230 million charging network is being deployed to support the first all-electric cars hitting showrooms late this year.
Tennessee is one of five states taking part in the project, which is partly financed with $115 million in federal taxpayer money.
The electric vehicles, or EVs, have a maximum range of 100 miles before recharging, so their use for longer road trips require high-voltage quick-charge stations accessible to the public.
ECOtality Inc. is a California company awarded a $115 million Department of Energy grant last year to manage deployment of chargers in the five states.
University of Memphis economist Jeff Wallace, a research professor at the U of M’s Bureau of Business & Economic Research, is concerned that Memphis and West Tennessee will be left behind.
“It’s completely impractical to buy an all-electric car if you live in West Tennessee until you get the charging grid built up—unless you’re just driving it to and from work and you have a charging station at home or you’re fortunate enough to have a station at work,’’ Wallace said.
Neither state, nor Tennessee Valley Authority officials nor ECOtality executives would say why Memphis is excluded.
“Though areas outside of the Nashville-Knoxville-Chattanooga area are not yet involved in these electric vehicle efforts, TVA encourages growth of transportation electrification across the state and the region,’’ TVA spokesman Mike Bradley said Friday.
Public discussions involving state officials began when Nissan announced, in early 2009, its plans to market its all-electric LEAF automobile in late 2010 and to move the car’s production to Smyrna, Tenn., in 2012.
Gov. Phil Bredesen put $5 million toward charging infrastructure in last year’s state budget.