
General Motors recently announced it's developing a feature on its OnStar navigation service that will allow Chevrolet Volt owners to better utilize renewable energy to recharge their cars.
The automaker is working with a utility company to produce the feature, which will allow OnStar users to see what percentage of a grid's power supply is coming from green energy sources, such as wind.
OnStar and Google are working together to test the technology of 17 Chevrolet Volts in Google's "Gfleet," based at the company's headquarters in California. The technology is being tested at Google headquarters in California, on a fleet of 17 Volts known as the "Gfleet."
"This demonstration shows that in the near future customers will have a real signal of demand for renewable energy," said Nick Pudar, vice president of planning and business development for OnStar. "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."
Demonstrations of the new system will take place at the upcoming 2012 DistribuTECH Conference and Exhibition in San Antonio.
Following a recall of more than 8,000 vehicles because of a battery issue that caused fires, the Chevrolet Volt was recently ruled safe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

