EC Praises WH Support of Electrification

Growing Consensus in Washington and Beyond Must Lead to Action

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2010; The Electrification Coalition (EC) today praised the Obama administration's weeklong series of events at companies producing electric vehicles, components, and infrastructure, including the president's remarks today at a groundbreaking ceremony for Compact Power in Holland, Michigan.

"The Obama Administration this week is demonstrating its commitment to the electrification of the nation's transportation system with an unprecedented display of Cabinet-level support for electric vehicles, innovative battery technologies, and critical infrastructure," EC President Robbie Diamond said. "The Electrification Coalition hopes the extraordinary commitment to electrification by Obama administration officials during their trips across the nation this week will jumpstart legislative action on Capitol Hill."

White House officials fanned out across the country this week to plants and other facilities that will produce and support electric vehicles, components and infrastructure. Events during the week include:

  --  Secretary of Energy Steven Chu's visit to a Delphi Automotive System
      plant in Kokomo, Indiana, that is producing electric drivetrain
      components
  --  Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis' visit to Charlotte, North
      Carolina-based Celgard, which makes lithium battery parts
  --  Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan's visit to an
      electric vehicle recharging station project in New York
  --  White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley's
      visit to the SBE battery component plant in Barre, Vermont
  --  White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers Executive
      Director Ed Montgomery's visit to a GM plant in White Marsh, Maryland
      that will produce electric drivetrains
  --  Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari's visit to
      Pennsylvania-based battery maker East Penn Manufacturing

"The truth is this: electrifying our cars and trucks is the only way to fundamentally deal with the dangers posed by oil dependence, from the Gulf tragedy to threats in the Middle East," Diamond added. "Electrification represents a bipartisan solution that has support in the House, the Senate, the White House, and perhaps most importantly, among the American people. Now it is time to act on the consensus in favor of electrifying our transportation sector."