A handful of U.S. cities are involved with efforts to test electric vehicle technology this year, and in some cases, solar energy is playing a role in this undertaking.

According to an announcement from the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, 10 solar-powered vehicle recharging stations are expected to be established in the downtown area. These would be part of a network of 350 recharging stations in the greater Knoxville area.

The announcement also noted that cities in several Western states were participating in the initiative, which aims to gather data that will help establish the electric vehicle recharging infrastructure of the future.

Nissan and Chevrolet are preparing high-profile entries to the electric vehicle market in the coming months, which is expected to set the stage for a new generation of clean car technology to go mainstream in the U.S.

Nationwide, this electrical vehicle testing initiative is expected to involve more than 8,000 cars using approximately 15,000 recharging stations in the participating test markets. The program is being funded in part by $115 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy.