RALEIGH, NC – North Carolina-based utility company Progress Energy recently released its 2011 Corporate Sustainability Report, part of which includes an overview of the company's alternative-fuel vehicle efforts.

According to the report, in 2010, Progress Energy joined General Motors in a two-year demonstration and research program of the new 2011 Chevrolet Volt. The company plans to add 12 Volts to its current fleet of more than 60 alternative-fueled cars and bucket trucks. The company is involved in these test programs due to its interest in ensuring it has the right infrastructure in place when there are greater numbers of electric vehicles on the road.

Progress Energy is also running a small test fleet of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, which includes six Toyota Prius models, two Ford Escape PHEVs, and a plug-in electric bucket truck. The company said it’s working with Electric Power Research Institute, General Motors, Nissan, Ford, and others to help integrate PHEVs into the nation’s electric grid.

The company said its partnership with Ford includes testing the company’s factory-built PHEVs based on the Ford Escape platform, which it received in 2009 as part of a three-year testing program.

The utility company also participates in various vehicle conversion programs, and has helped the City of St. Petersburg, Fla. convert a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid into a PHEV, and the University of Florida convert a Toyota Prius into a PHEV.

In the realm of biodiesel, the company is using B20 in its diesel-powered vehicles, and the company’s report stated it’s interested in E-85 for use in flex-fuel vehicles.

You can read the company's full sustainability report here.