(SAN JOSE, CA) -- The Raleigh Convention Center will be the site of Plug-In 2011, set for July 2011. Raleigh-based Progress Energy announced that it worked with the City of Raleigh in the effort to land the major event organized by California-based The Electric Power Research Institute.

This is exciting news for this area and continues to position the Triangle as a national leader in getting ready for electric vehicles," said Progress Energy spokesman Scott Sutton.

This is the first time this conference will be held outside of California. "We decided to offer a bit of geographical balance to our conference schedule as a way of exposing more people to the significant progress made toward integrating plug-in hybrid and other electric vehicles into the transportation system," said Mark Duvall, director of Electric Transportation at EPRI.

The conference offers expert insight on technical advances, market research and policy initiatives shaping the future of plug-in hybrid and electric transportation.  The 2011 conference takes place July 18-21.