Mark Hildebrandt developed an interest in clean energy in the 1970s. He owns a company that installs solar panels and he counts on the sun to create the electricity to charge his Chevrolet Volt.

The owner of Sunventrix in Saline, Mich., Mark Hildebrandt said:

“I made the switch to renewable energy a while ago, and thus with solar energy, I can power my house, charge my Volt and pump energy back into the grid, which I get credit for. As more Volts are sold, I believe the demand for solar charging stations will increase. I have spoken to a handful of Volt owners in Michigan that are really interested in charging their Volts from solar energy.”

Hildebrandt isn’t the only one using the sun for battery power. Robert deLeuze, ZD Wines’ chief executive officer, has run his California-based winery exclusively on solar power since 2007, and today you can often see deLeuze’s Volt charging from the winery’s

The first all-electric passenger vehicle from Ford has finally been unveiled in the form of the Focus Electric.
Expected to launch in late 2011, the Ford Focus Electric is said to offer a 100-mile-range. It will offer a mile-per-gallon equivalent ratio that surpasses the Chevrolet Volt and will be competitive with other battery electric cars.
Powered by an advanced lithium-ion battery, the Focus Electric uses heated and cooled liquid to help maximize battery life and fuel-free driving range. The active liquid system heats or chills the coolant before pumping it through the system helping to regulate the temperature against external conditions.

A full recharge takes place in less than four hours at home with a 240V charging station. The vehicle also includes new features and technologies such as a MyFord Touch driver connect system and a new value charging feature powered by Microsoft. The MyFord Touch driver connect technology offers an innovative presentation of vehicle information including battery state of charge, distance to charge point and the corresponding range budget and

Before 2010 came to a close, both Nissan and General Motors launched their respective plug-in vehicles. For General Motors, it was the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid that made its December debut. The Nissan Leaf electric vehicle landed in a lucky buyer’s driveway on the 11th of last month. With both automakers making good on their promise to debut mass-produced plug-ins by the end of 2010, the question of which vehicle tallied more total U.S. sales in the month of December can, with a limited degree of accuracy, now be answered.

The Associated Press reports that General Motors sold between 250 and 350 Volts in the U.S. by the end of 2010. On the other hand, Nissan reportedly sold less than 20 Leafs in the U.S. before 2011 rang in. Production volumes for both vehicles will continue to ramp up in the coming months and that’s where the real battle lies, but if you’re dead set on comparing actual 2010 U.S. delivery numbers, than it’s the Chevrolet Volt that outsold Nissan Leaf by a substantial margin.

Check out a short promo film from General Motors that follows the development of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, from the concept reveal in 2007 to launch at the end of 2010.