2011 Nissan Leaf Helps Underground Utility Company2011 Nissan Leaf Helps Underground Utility Company

The U.K. National Grid — the company responsible for maintaining the entire U.K. high-voltage electrical grid  —  has just taken delivery of four 2011 Nissan Leafs which will help it complete a massive eight-year project to construct new power-conduit tunnels throughout he city of London. 
The project — one of the largest tunnel building projects in central London for man years — will help upgrade the capital’s aging electrical power lines, preventing the overloading of the elderly electrical circuits and minimizing the risk of brownouts. 
While the 2011 Nissan Leaf would be well-suited to life in an underground tunnel thanks to its lack of tailpipe, the four pool cars being leased to the National Grid won’t be heading underground. 
Instead, the four cars will be used to provide transport for the tunnel inspection team through the busy streets of London as they visit the various tunneling sites across the city. 
The National Grid has also taken steps to provide each car with its own dedicated charging station at National Grid depots across the city to ensure that the humiliation of running out of charge never happens to the people responsible for powering the entire country. 
The National Grid won’t be making the switch over to pure-electric yet for the rest of its 2,600 vehicle fleet — at least not until someone builds an electric vehicle capable of carrying heavy power equipment to remote locations in the middle of a winter storm. 
To be honest, we were a little disappointed that Nissan’s all-electric Leaf wasn’t actually going underground — but we live in hope that one day it will. 
[National Grid via FleetWorld News]
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