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Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office
Governor Beshear encourages battery manufacturers, auto manufacturers and utilities to continue to work toward creating a viable new energy source for vehicles
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear Wednesday evening told the annual meeting of the National Alliance for Advance Technology Batteries (NAATBatt) that the Commonwealth is well-positioned to partner and support the group’s mission to lead the efforts to grow a market for advanced energy storage technology in North America.
The conference focuses on what utilities can and should be doing to prepare for the introduction of mass market Personal Electric Vehicles (PEVs) in their service territories. Gov. Beshear said one component of that discussion is the development of the technology needed to produce advanced technologies for batteries that will power those vehicles. That is a discussion already underway in Kentucky with the recent groundbreaking of a new research and development center near the University of Kentucky that will hold laboratory space for a battery center.
“By going beyond theoretical science to applied engineering, and by focusing those efforts in the area where economics, energy and the environment overlap, we believe the center can be a game-changer,” said Gov. Beshear.
The conference coincides with the expected unveiling of two PEV models, one from Chevrolet and one from Nissan, that will be mass-marketed to consumers. The Governor noted that, as this technology unfolds and gains traction across the country, the need for standardized regulations around having reliable sources of energy for these vehicles will be critical.
While urging the conference attendees to continue working on solutions to the energy reliability issue, the Governor did recognize the leadership of the two auto manufacturers in developing and preparing for market the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. He presented representatives from General Motors and Nissan with golden spike replicas, depicting the courage and ingenuity that Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads displayed in 1869 when the two met at Promontory Summit in the Utah Territory to bring the nation together through the use of the railroads.
The spikes bore two inscriptions: “In Commemoration of the Launch of the First Plug-in Electric Vehicles in the United States” and “May this Spike Mark the Beginning of a New Transportation Age – the Age of Electric Vehicles.”
“There is much to be gained from automakers, battery manufacturers, electric utilities and government regulators talking to each other about problems and solutions,” said Gov. Beshear. “And I, like many of you, am optimistic about our progress.”
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