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MEDIA RELEASE Plug-InTexas.com: 100+ mpg for 5 more Hymotion Priuses in City of Houston fleetThanks to a $50,000 grant from the EPA, the City of Houston upgraded five more of its Toyota Prius fleet to Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) with the only EPA certified battery module the week after Thanksgiving 2010. These Hymotion PHEV Priuses, like the first ten the City upgraded in 2009, can achieve gas mileage 100+ mpg, fueling the first 30-40 miles primarily with Hymotion's 5 kW battery and only a 5.5-hour charge in a conventional 110 V AC electrical outlet. Results: better air quality for kids, more fuel savings, and a green automotive infrastructure for Texas and the nation's 2+ million Priuses.
HOUSTON, TEXAS--December 3, 2010 - In mid-2010, the EPA awarded a $50,000 Houston Climate Showcase grant to The City of Houston to upgrade five more Toyota Priuses in its fleet to Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), saving gas & labor costs, and improving Houston's air quality with 100+ mpg. Upgrading their Prius fleet to PHEVs is one of the many sustainable transportation strategies & tactics in the works for the City of Houston, complementing its leadership in green energy and green building. Its other sustainable transportation strategies include:
Because A123 Systems' Hymotion L5 conversion module is the only battery kit approved by the EPA for the 2006-2009 Toyota Prius, Houston selected Hymotion again as its vendor. In 2009, when the City of Houston had converted its first ten Priuses with the Hymotion 5 kW battery pack, the City of Houston's nearest Certified Hymotion Installation Partner (CHIP) dealer was in Denver, Colorado. However, in 2009 and 2010, Momentum Bay's GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS and its sustainable transportation consulting arm Plug-In TexasSM (http://www.plug-intexas.com) worked with Hymotion to screen and select a local installer in Houston -- HCS Automotive (http://www.hcsauto.com) -- creating green jobs and sustainable economic development in Houston.   To avoid the unnecessary expense of shipping cars to and from Denver or even elsewhere in Texas for conversion, and to grow the Texas market when most cities are facing budget deficits, Hymotion and HCS Auto priced the packages so the City of Houston received five for the typical nationwide price of four Hymotion kits. GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS will extend this discounted offer -- more than 20% off nationwide pricing -- to public and private parties until March 31, 2011 or until supplies last on conversions done by HCS Auto in Houston or remotely.   Houston's ecologically intelligent car wash Eco Suds (http://www.ecosudscarwash.com) -- a biodegradable full-service auto detailing & waterless car wash company -- even cleaned the City of Houston's five Toyota Priuses at no charge to show its support for how Houston is leading the nation in electric vehicles, charging stations, green power, recycling, green buildings and more with the help of the Mayor Annise Parker, Sustainability Director Laura Spanjian, the Green Building Resource Director's Program Director Steve Stelzer, and others (see http://www.greenhoustontx.gov).  David Knox and other NRG eVgo team members visited HCS Auto to see the five converted Priuses, and to explain how these and other electric vehicles will be able to charge up using NRG's eVgo network (http://www.evgonetwork.com) of 50 Level 2 and Level 3 charging stations within 25 miles of downtown Houston.   Students from Texas' healthiest, most sustainable K-12 school -- The Monarch School (http://www.HowToGreenSchools.com), serving 115 students with neurological differences primarily related to autism -- attended NRG's eVgo media event in November 2010 and visited HCS Auto in December 2010 to learn about green cars and the future of transportation in America (really transportation history, since the first electric vehicles were commercialized nearly 100 years ago).        Kevin Douglass of the Houston Electric Auto Association's (http://heaa.org) said, "These cars have a plug. Let's support them." One of HEAA's members - a long-time Hymotion enthusiast - has already indicated that his Prius will be our first to upgrade in 2011, taking advantage of the 10% or $4,000 Federal tax credit available until 12/31/2011 for conversion kits under Section 1143 of the Energy Provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Also in December, the City of San Antonio is upgrading five of its fleet Prius vehicles to Hymotion PHEVs. And, in the first quarter of 2011, the City of Austin will be upgrading 38 of its Priuses to Hymotion plug-ins. Not to be left behind, The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) also recently offered $2.5 million in grant funding through the Clean Fleets North Texas: Recovery Act Call for Projects (CFP) Rounds 1 and 2. And, because funds are still available under this program, NCTCOG opened a third round of funding on December 13, 2010 to award additional dollars for alternative fuel and advanced technology projects. Awards from this round will be announced monthly until June 24, 2011 or the funds are exhausted. How soon can Texas surpass California in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, as Texas did in the race for renewable energy generation? 2011 may be the year. See the future of electric vehicles at the Plug-In America Vehicle Tracker. ### Media Contact: Mark Robinson
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