Chevy Testing System to Help Volt Drivers Prioritize Green Energy

Chevrolet knows that the reason that many people bought the Volt is because of the sedan's green car reputation, and it is aiming to improve that even more by allowing drivers to find charging locations that use a maximum of renewable energy. 

The system was co-developed by OnStar and PJM Interconnection and shows the percentage of available renewable energy on the grid. Volt drivers are then informed about the availability of green charging sites via the OnStar in their cars. 

The first cars to get this technology and to test it have been the 17 Volts that are part of Google's Gfleet, which are based at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. 

“This demonstration shows that in the near future customers will have a real signal of demand for renewable energy. As customers configure their Volts to favor renewable energy for their charging cycle, this real demand signal will influence utilities to tap into renewable sources," said Nick Pudar, OnStar vice president of planning and business development. 

So far, PJM's data have shown that the highest amount of wind energy is available on the grid between 10pm and 6am.

Chevy did not say when or if this technology would become available on all Volts in the future.