Red, White, Blue... and Electric

As Piedmont’s 4th of July parade nears, one contingent is preparing a not-so-conventional fleet. These cars plug in, run on solar energy, and most importantly, leave the smallest carbon footprint possible.

“We want to show that buying an electric car is probably the biggest thing we can do to lessen emissions in Piedmont,” said Justis Fennell, member of Piedmont Connect, a group advocating for local environmental sustainability efforts.

Led by people on electric bikes and scooters, expect to see a line up of Nissan LEAFs, a Toyota RAV 4, a plug-in Prius and a Chevy VOLT. These zero-emission vehicles can be charged overnight and run between 75 to 100 miles.

Joining the cause will be City Councilman Garrett Keating, who says he’s happy to stand behind any group that raises awareness about energy conservation. Especially now, when Piedmont’s Climate Action Plan proposes to reduce the city’s carbon emissions below 15 percent by 2020.

“You’ll see a lot of hybrids around, but we need to get a lot more electric vehicles in this town,” said Keating, who noted Piedmonters are very receptive to environmental issues.

According to Keating, 45 percent of Piedmont’s emissions come from vehicles, another 50 percent from homes. He acknowledges that retrofitting a house to be energy efficient can be a costly endeavor, but purchasing an electric car “is a very viable option,” he said. The cost of electric cars ranges from about $30,000 to upwards of $100,000.

As other city dignitaries ride in vintage cars from the 20s and 30s in Monday’s parade as is the custom, expect to see Keating atop a Nissan LEAF.

“I’ll be riding in the car of the next generation,” said Keating.

Fennell, who conceived of the idea, hopes Piedmont Connect’s “incursion into the parade” will get people to think about how they can change the way they burn fossil fuels.

After the parade, the group will have the electric cars on display and will be on hand to answer any questions.