BY KAREN BOSSICK

Would you be interested in a brand new Nissan Leaf for less than half price?

The Sun Valley Institute is hosting an open house for the public to learn how they can get big discounts on four electric cars from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6, at the Limelight Hotel in Ketchum.

Light refreshments will be served.

The RevUp Blaine initiative offers discounts of $10,000 off the Nissan Leaf, 7.5 percent off the Chevrolet Volt, 7 percent off the BMWi3 and 6 percent off the Audi-A-3 e-tron.

Purchasers will also be able to avail themselves of a federal tax credit of $7,500 for those purchasing the Nissan Leaf, BMWi3 and Chevy Voit and $4,502 for those purchasing the Audi A3 e-tron.

That’s $17,500 in total savings on the Nissan Leaf, which retails for $34,100. That makes the final cost $16,984.

The Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt will both be on display during Thursday’s events.

The initiative put together by the Sun Valley Institute is the first of its kind in Idaho. The Institute is employing it as a follow-up to last year’s Solarize Blaine campaign, which increased the amount of solar energy being used in the valley by 500 percent.

“We looked for other ways to offer affordable clean energy to our community. So, last fall we put out a request for proposals to electric vehicle dealerships and manufacturers, including Nissan, Audi, BMW, Tesla, Ford and GM,” said Program Director Katie Bray. “The proposals that we got back from Nissan, Chevy, Audi and BMW far exceeded even our greatest hopes.”

The Idaho National Laboratory also awarded a grant in support of the initiative.

All-electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and BMWi3 emit zero tailpipe emissions, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles like the A3 e-tron and the Chevy Volt release no tailpipe emissions when operating in all-electric mode, said Annie Keenan, RevUp Blaine community coordinator.

Electric vehicles require far less maintenance and cost less in the way of fuel costs than regular vehicles, she added.

The average cost of charging is the equivalent of $1.10 per gallon, said Aimee Christensen, the Institute’s executive director.

They’re also considered smoother to drive with faster pick-up. And many car experts believe the Leaf drives better than conventional cars during winter.

The initiative is part of the Institute’s mission to build a resilient energy system in Blaine County, while serving as a model for other communities through the way it addresses energy risks and capitalizes on opportunities.

RevUp Blaine is modeled after a program in Boulder County, Colo., which offered an $8,500 discount on the 2015 Nissan Leaf. Consumers purchased 248 Leafs from the participating dealership in just four months.

The dealership sold five times as many electric vehicles per months as its average sales.

Since then, five other EV group-purchasing programs have popped up in Salt Lake City, northern Colorado, San Francisco, Minnesota and Austin, Texas.

The program officially launches the evening of the open house. Pre-enrollment is available at www.revupblaine.org.

Questions can be directed to 208-928-7873 or energy@sunvalleyinstitute.org.