Two events in the next week will showcase Knoxville's growing number of electric vehicle (EV) owners and the City's expanding EV infrastructure.

On Friday, Sept. 21, the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition and the City of Knoxville will co-host the 2012 Knoxville Electric Car Show, from 4-8 p.m. at the south end of Market Square and on Market Street between Union Avenue and Clinch Avenue. The event is in conjunction with National Plug In Day, and will feature a variety of locally-owned electric vehicles. Owners will be on hand to answer questions about the cars.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 21
2012 Knoxville Electric Car Show
4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Market Square South End and Market Street

THURSDAY, SEPT. 27
Ribbon Cutting for
24 EGV Charging Stations
10 a.m.
Civic Coliseum Parking Garage Then, at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27, the City will hold a ribbon-cutting event at the Civic Coliseum parking garage to officially mark the opening of 24 EV charging stations in City garages and other facilities.

Mayor Madeline Rogero will attend the ribbon-cutting, along with Dr. Thom Mason, Director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Jeremy Covert of ECOtality North America. ECOtality received a $99.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to place 14,000 EV charging stations across the country. In East Tennessee, the company worked with ORNL to site the stations, including those in Knoxville. Equipment and installation costs for the 24 Knoxville stations totaled about $400,000.

"These charging stations will make it easier for local electric-vehicle owners to plug in while they're at work, and make the commute home with a fully charged battery," said Susana Sutherland, manager of the City's Office of Sustainability. "This is critical infrastructure to encourage the use of vehicles that consume less energy and produce fewer emissions."

The 24 charging stations in the City are at the following locations: six at the Civic Coliseum Garage, four at Market Square Garage, and two each at State Street Garage, Ijams Nature Center, the Jackson Avenue parking lot, West Hills Park, Victor Ashe Park, Sequoyah Park and Caswell Park.

The charging stations at the Coliseum Garage and Market Square Garage are accompanied by solar panels: a 14.4 kilowatt array at the Coliseum, and an 8.64 kilowatt array at Market Square. Both are capable of offsetting heavy EV charging usage onsite.