Francfort kicked-off the day’s activities with a presentation on INL’s findings-to-date about PHEVs and then discussed a potential collaboration with the AVI consortium.  AVI has requested INL to consider a significant role in data collection and analyses for the 10-20 hybrid vehicles to be enrolled in the pilot project.   Ron Johnston-Rodriguez, economic development director for the Port of Chelan County, lead agency for the AVI, said “The project’s execution, and INL’s participation, will represent another milestone in AVI’s ‘PluginCenter’ strategy:  Positioning North Central Washington as a leader in state and national efforts to electrify transportation – a trend robust with economic opportunities, and one that reinforces an ‘innovation friendly’ and ‘green’ image of our region”. 

The meetings brought together key partners in the AVI-designed PHEV Pilot Project, including: Tim Stearns, WA Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development’s Energy Division and lead for the state’s PHEV Pilot Project initiative; Pilot Project Research Design Co-chairs - Dr. Jim White, Chelan County PUD, and Dr. David Granatstein, WSU; Jim Richardson, Wenatchee Valley College (WVC) President; Blake Murray, Automotive Program Director, WVC; Scott Logan, Director of Pupil Transportation, Lake Chelan School District and President of the WA State Pupil Transportation Directors Association; JC Baldwin, Port of Chelan County Commissioner; and Jim Bailey, Wenatchee City Council member. 

A highlight of the day’s activities was the plug-in hybrid electric school bus that shuttled the participants to their meetings at the Confluence Technology Center, Chelan County PUD, and Wenatchee Valley College.  The bus is one of the first of just nineteen plug-in hybrid school buses in the nation.  Recently acquired by the Lake Chelan School District, it is fueled by electricity from the grid and a bio-diesel blend.  Scott Logan, Director of Pupil Transportation for the district and an active AVI member, described the bus’s technology and performance.  

The bus and other plug-in hybrid vehicles will become more visible in NCW in the coming months as AVI and Wenatchee Valley College coordinate the conversion of as many as a dozen hybrids into plug-in hybrids for enrollment in the Pilot Project.  The vehicles will be available for local viewing and inspection during AVI’s fourth Power UP! Summit on May 8-9th,  2008.  For more information, see www.PluginCenter.com.