Mayor Nahum Hofree:  “Raanana is proud to lead this process and to offer a suitable and important alternative to the use of polluting energy, as part of its environmental responsibility and vision”

Last week, the Raanana Municipality and Better Place launched their project in which an infrastructure will be put in place for charging electric cars in Raanana.  The signing of the agreement between the company and the municipality positions Raanana as the first local authority in the Sharon region to have established a car charging infrastructure in the city.

The event was opened with a performance by musicians from the Municipal Music Center – with the song “Our Car is Big and Green” – to symbolize Raanana’s commitment to and its significant investment in sustainable activity on behalf of environmental protection.

According to the agreement signed at the beginning of November between Mayor Nahum Hofree and Better Place Israel’s CEO, Moshe Kaplinsky, during the first stage, the company will deploy dozens of charging stations at central locations in the city, such as the Municipal Tennis Center, the Lev Hapark Community Center, the Municipal Swimming Pool, the Kiryat Etgarim HI-Tech Park and on streets in the city center.

The Raanana Municipality is also considering the option of replacing its municipal car fleet with hybrid cars, thereby making an additional contribution by demonstrating an alternative that uses clean energy.  Mayor Nahum Hofree purchased a hybrid car two years ago, providing a personal example!

At the launch was attended by Mayor Nahum Hofree, deputy mayors and city council members, the city manager, and Better Place CEO Moshe Kaplinsky.  Kaplinsky thanked the mayor and noted that he was impressed with the Nahum Hofree’s profound commitment to green issues and his strong support for this project and its implementation in the city.

Mayor Nahum Hofree:  “Raanana is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emission by 20 percent by the year 2020, as part of its environmental responsibility.  The municipal vision believes in enlisting the public and working in partnership with the community in order to adopt a green efficient lifestyle, which protects our resources and contributes to the environment.”

Better Place develops and operates infrastructure for electric cars and will be responsible for the installing the ‘charge spots’ and stations for replacing the battery.  The company will import the first electric cars to Israel by the end of 2011.  In the first stage, dozens of stations for replacing batteries will be installed across the country and thousands of ‘charge spots.’

In the photo:  The mayor and Moshe Kaplinsky-CEO of Better Place, charging an electric car in Raanana.  Photo courtesy of Sharon Bokov.