I’ve long said that the future of the automobile won’t rest on any one new technology. Volvo apparently took this to heart and threw several of the latest alternative-fuel technologies into one model, which could appear on the market as soon as 2012.

There were few details released, but here’s what we know about the first model to embody Volvo’s “Drive towards Zero” mission:

• It will use a diesel engine and lithium batteries
• It can run on battery power alone for about 30 miles
• Emissions would be below 50 grams of CO2 per km
• The new technology will make the car really expensive, so Volvo is encouraging governments to offer subsidies and incentives

Photo of the concept Volvo hybrid courtesy of Volvo Cars.

Here’s how it all breaks down:

• The average fuel economy of the manufacturers’ car and light truck fleets will increase by 5% every year beginning in 2012 and ending in 2016
• Cars must average 39 mpg; light trucks and SUVs must average 30 mpg by 2016
• Overall average will be 35.5; current overall average is 25 mpg
• Will go hand-in-hand with EPA initiative to reduce tailpipe CO2 emissions by 40%

What’s not known is how extended-range electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt or hydrogen cars like the Honda Clarity will figure into the calculations. The feds say they’re working on it.

If you’d like this information in a live, five-minute video starring yours truly, check out Portland’s KGW NewsChannel 8.

With San Diego and Seattle on board, the ends of Interstate 5 are pinned in place with EV charging agreements. Coverage along I-5’s length is spotty so far, though, so don’t plan a road trip in your Tesla just yet. Also, as John O’Dell reported on the Green Car Advisor blog, Seattle’s hydroelectric power source makes it the first utility in the world to be able to lay claim to the carbon-neutral crown.

Nissan’s EV has been making the rounds on the West Coast lately, with the technology tucked inside a Nissan Cube. The company won’t confirm that the final vehicle design will be based on the Cube, nor will it let journalists take a peek inside the battery pack. I assume details will be coming this fall as the first versions, suitable for real-world testing, become available.

The New York Times Wheels blog gave the PHEV MP3’s specs:

• 125-cc gasoline engine
• lithium-ion batteries
• 140 mpg estimate
• $10,000 or so
• available Q1 2010

Halvorsen has no intention of busting down garage doors in the middle of the night to take away gasoline cars. The new rules, if enacted, would apply only to new cars sold in 2015 or after. Her idea is to push car companies to make cleaner-running cars, not to wreck the Norwegian economy–even though Norway is the sixth largest oil exporter in the world, according to Reuters. On the other hand, Norway is home to electric-car upstart Think.

The A123 plant will be the bigger of the two, with $600 million in seed money and more than 5,000 positions expected to be filled. Compact Power’s plant gets a $200 million investment to create about 300 jobs. Both companies will recieve $125-million tax credits from the state as a thank-you.

Ted Kulongoski, Governor of Oregon, John Koenig of Mistubishi Motors North America, and Jim Piro, head of electric utility PGE all took the podium on Earth Day to announce Oregon’s partnership with Mistubishi to establish a statewide network of charging stations. Presumably, these stations will be used by Mitsubishi’s i MiEV fleet when they come to Oregon for testing later this year.

Piro and Kulongoski both interated that Oregon is moving away from fossil fuel power, with the idea of emissions-free driving at the source and from the tailpipe (metaphorically, of course. EVs don’t have tailpipes). The region PGE serves is already number one in purchasing renewable power, so it seems hearts and minds of its customers have already been won over.

Kulongoski also said he was working with the federal Department of Transportation on greening the interstates. He’d like to see quick chargers at rest stops along Interstates 5 and 84 in Oregon, and apparently the U.S. government hasn’t shut down the idea completely.

Image of Gov. Kulongoski with i MiEV and charger by Kristen Hall-Geisler.

Jaguar was granted a loan of more than 300 million pounds for developing green technology by the European Union. It’s worked with outside engineers on the PHEV project, including Lotus Engineering, to put the car into production by 2011. This dovetails with Jaguar’s plan to reduce its emissions by 25% by 2012.

The wads and wads of cash come from Eco-Drive (Capital) Partners of New York, which is an investment consortium with members from the U.S. and Europe, and from early Fisker investor Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers.

Company founder and CEO Henrik Fisker will take part in the Fortune Brainstorm Green Conference in Laguna Niguel, California, this week. The symposium will include keynote speaker President Bill Clinton and the “Future of Cars” panel, which is where Fisker will share his ideas on the autos to come, along with Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and Ford CEO Alan Mulally.

The state of Oregon issued an RFP (request for proposals) last week asking for companies that make public electric-car charging stations to submit their systems for consideration in the state’s green transportation plans. The state already has a bunch of stations, mostly in the Portland metro area, but it wants to increase that number to hundreds and spread the EV love as far and wide as possible.

The Oregon Department of Transportation was authorized to ramp up the curbside charging program last November, including standardizing the look, performance, and safety of the chargers. Also, they’d like to buy in bulk to make things easy, so charging stations built by hand in the family garage likely aren’t going to cut it.

The chargers won’t be limited to curbside parking. ODOT envisions them at park-and-ride locations, retail parking lots, and motor pools, among others. Of course, Good Green Cars already covered the unveiling of a curbside charger in Oregon City last fall.