More electric cars are coming to Raleigh.
The White House announced $2.4 billion in grants today to accelerate the development of electric cars, batteries and other projects. Electric cars are seen as a zero-emission option that can combat global warming.
One grant will give Ford $30 million to deploy up to 150 plug-in hybrid cars for testing. And some of those autos will go to Progress Energy.
The Raleigh-based utility will drive them so it can test charging patterns, and the impact a fleet of cars has on the electricity grid, said spokesman Scott Sutton. Progress already has been testing seven Toyota Priuses, a Ford Escape plug-in and a plug-in bucket truck.
Progress also will have a hand in another project in Florida. Saft America will receive $95.5 million to build a plant in Jacksonville, Fla., that will make new batteries for electric cars.
Progress CEO Bill Johnson traveled to Florida today for the announcement and said the electric cars will reduce greenhouse gases, bring down fuel costs and reduce dependence on foreign oil.
"I foresee a day when fueling at the plug will be as common as fueling at the pump," Johnson said. "It's already cheaper and cleaner, and it leverages domestic energy."
Electric cars derive their energy from power plants that control emissions better than gasoline engines. In this state, electricity is produced predominantly by coal-burning power plants and nuclear plants.
Electric cars have never achieved popularity because they have short driving ranges and require hours to recharge. Hybrid technology has attacked the problem with back-up gasoline engines. Efforts are underway to create super-efficient batteries that store power longer and recharge quicker.
In Charlotte, Energy Secretary Steven Chu was scheduled to visit Celgard, a company that received a $49 million grant to expand its battery manufacturing facilities in Charlotte and Aiken, S.C. That expansion is expected to create hundreds of jobs.
The grant money announced today was included in the $787 billion stimulus measure passed earlier this year.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or 
