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"Tindo", an electric bus in Adelaide Australia, is charged entirely by electricity produced by solar panels on the city's bus station. (Photo provided by Adelaide City Council)

ADELAIDE, Australia -- If you think you can only think small – as in small EVs – when you think solar-charged, think again.

Down Under in Australia, the City of Adelaide is running one of its public fleet buses entirely on sun – and has been doing so for nearly two years.

Solar energy generated by a PV system installed on the roof of the Adelaide Central Bus Station charges the batteries for Adelaide’s electric bus, “Tindo.”

These solar panels on top of Rabobank N.A.'s Santa Maria, Calif. branch provide the electricity for a solar-charging station for EVs which is located next to the bank.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- A state famous for its sun will soon become the first state in the country to offer drivers a chance to zip from one major metropolitan hub to the next on sun power alone thanks to an innovative partnership between SolarCity and Rabobank N.A.

One of HOURCAR's two solar-charged PHEVs.

MINNEAPOLIS -- You don’t need to invest in a solar system and an EV or PHEV in order to drive a solar-charged car – at least not if you live in Minneapolis.

Just sign up with HOURCAR, a Minneapolis-St. Paul car-sharing organization founded by the non-profit Neighborhood Energy Connection, and you just might get a chance to drive one of their two modified solar-charged Toyota Prius PHEVs.

HOURCAR says it is the first car-sharing program in the U.S. to offer its customers the chance to drive a solar-charged car, albeit a partially solar-charged one.

“We really want to do whatever we can to promote alternative energies and sustainable ways for people to power their transportation,” says HOURCAR Program Manager Christopher Bineham. “Solar-powering some of our cars gave us the opportunity to be involved in this in a significant way.”