Added on November 23, 2015  The News Wheel   , , , , , , , ,
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Nissan and Renault to Add 90 Charging Stations to Paris for Climate Conference

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Nissan Leaf at charging station

Picture: mariordo59

A while back, Nissan and Renault announced that they would be providing 200 electric vehicles (split between Nissan’s LEAF and e-NV200 vehicles and Renault’s ZOE cars), all driven by professional operators and volunteers, to shuttle UN delegates to and from the 21st Conference of Parties climate conference (COP21).

However, there was one slight problem that we forgot to ask about: where will all of those vehicles be charging up?

All employees will be reimbursed for the fuel costs that should have been handled by electricity

Since occasionally, we apparently forget that electricity doesn’t grow on trees
Photo: Andy Melton

Luckily, Nissan and Renault thought of that, because they are installing 90 new charging locations in and around Paris, in partnership with French energy provider EDF, Shneider Electric, Aeroports de Paris, Paris City Council, and French railway company SNCF. Several charging points will be donated by Schneider Electric.

“COP21 is a call to action to reduce the impact of climate change – including global warming resulting from personal transportation,” said Renault-Nissan Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn. “Electric vehicles are the only existing, practical and affordable transportation solution to our planet’s environmental challenges, and they are available today. Expanding the EV infrastructure is mandatory for any city or state that’s serious about environmental stewardship.”

These charging points will also be running on a low carbon footprint, making the chargers just like the vehicles that they will fuel—green.

“EDF supports the development of electric mobility, which is a cornerstone of countries’ efforts to minimize urban pollution. EDF produces extremely low-carbon electricity in France, which enables a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and thus reinforces the favorable ecological footprint of this new generation of transport,” said EDF Chairman and CEO Jean-Bernard Levy.

The French power grid distributes electricity with low levels of CO2, averaging less that 40g per kWh in 2014 compared to the European average of 325g by using about 19% renewable energy.

In addition, the remaining CO2 emissions are offset by carbon credits handed down from the UN, making the EV fleet, legally (if not 100% literally) “decarbonized.”

Many of the charge points will remain after the conference has ended, with 14 of 27 quick chargers becoming available for use by the public, including two at Charles de Gaulle airport, two on the Paris périphérique highway, and one at Orly airport. These will become part of Paris region’s already-established collection of over 4,000 charge points and France’s collection of about 10,000.