Governor Phil Bredesen announced that nthe state of Tennessee, through its participation in the national Electric Vehicle (EV) Project, will offer a $2,500 rebate on the first 1,000 electric vehicles purchased in Tennessee. The state rebate will complement a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase of electric vehicles.
“We’ve worked hard in Tennessee to become a leader in driving clean energy solutions and creating clean energy jobs,” Gov. Bredesen said. “We’re already seeing additional jobs being created as a result of those efforts, and our participation in the Electric Vehicle project is another indication that Tennessee is leading the way to the future of clean energy and alternative fuels.”
The Governor announced the rebate program during a lunch time address in Nashville at the TVA Fuel Solutions Forum, which focused on using electricity as a transportation fuel.
Tennessee is one of six states and the District of Columbia selected to participate in the EV project, which is funded through a $100 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The EV project is the largest deployment of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure in U.S. history.
The $2.5 million in state funding for the rebate program was approved in last year’s state budget and draws from the petroleum violation escrow (PVE) account, which are funds collected by the federal government from oil companies. PVE dollars can only be used for approved energy-related activities.
The rebate program will be administered by the Department of Revenue, which will offer the rebate to consumers through Nissan’s network of automotive dealerships in Tennessee. The rebate will be applied at the time the vehicle is purchased.
In May of this year, Gov. Bredesen joined Nissan officials in breaking ground for the 1.3 million square foot facility that will produce the lithium-ion batteries that will power the Nissan LEAF, an all-electric vehicle that produces no emissions. The battery facility is expected to create 1,300 additional jobs in Smyrna. The Nissan LEAF will also be manufactured in Smyrna and will begin rolling off the production lines in late 2012.