Think the Earth

On the 27th of March, the Danish energy company, DONG Energy and the US firm that supports building infrastructure of electric cars, Project Better Place announced the network plan for expanding the use of electric cars.

The plan includes the construction of 20,000 recharging stations by the year of 2011. While windmills make up around 20 percent of Denmark窶冱 electricity production, the excess energy that the wind turbines generate on windy days will be supplied at the recharging stations by DONG Energy. Battery-driven electrical vehicles will be actively promoted in Denmark after the network of recharging stations is organized.

The vehicles will be provided by French car maker Renault and the lithium-ion batteries will be made by Japan窶冱 Nissan: the project is very internationally integrated. 窶廾ther car makers and battery producers would join the project later. I expect the network to expand to other European countries soon. We're in discussion with 30 countries Europe, America and Asian nations," said Shai Agassi, the network plan initiator and the CEO of Project Better Place.

One charging of the battery would allow a car to drive a maximum of 150 kilometers. On days with no wind, the electricity would need to be sent from DONG窶冱 coal-fired plants. However, the carbon dioxide emission could be cut up to one half when compared with having cars running on gasoline.