Solar-powered EV charging stations continue to go up at a faster and faster rate here in the United States, and increasingly in other countries as well, including, as we note below, Australia, which recently saw what some news reports claim is the country’s first solar EV canopy.
In fact, while keeping track of all the solar-powered EV charging stations going up in the U.S. was relatively easy when we started SolarChargedDriving.com about 2 ½ years ago, now they’re going up so fast that it’s impossible for us to keep track of them all, though we continue to try 🙂
Here’s our latest news round-up on new solar-charged EV charging stations.
Pflugerville, Texas goes EV + PV
The first electric vehicle charging station in Pflugerville, Texas officially went online in late December 2011. Installed by New York-based Pvilion, the solar-powered facility near State Highway 130 is part of a 617-acre tract that city officials hope will be developed as a renewable energy park aimed at attracting green technology companies to Pflugerville.
Solar-charged in St. Paul
St. Paul, Minn. will soon flip the switch on two solar-powered EV charging stations at Como Lake and nearby McMurray Fields. Each station has the capacity to charge two cars at a time. According to the St. Paul Star Tribune, the sites are the latest in St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman’s “unfurling of the welcome mat for green energy, electric vehicles in particular.” Coleman called the stations a “smart investment.”
{googleAds}<div style=”float:right; margin-left: 10px;”>
<script type=”text/javascript”><!–
google_ad_client = “pub-7703542917199961”;
/* 200×200,
created 12/8/09 */
google_ad_slot = “7950368454”;
google_ad_width
= 200;
google_ad_height = 200;
//–>
</script>
<script
type=”text/javascript”
src=”http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js”>
</script>
</div>
{/googleAds}
Australia plugs into solar + EV charging
The Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies Environment Centre, in the Melbourne, Australia suburb of Brunswick, has switched on its first EV charging station. EVs that plug in at the station will take power from the grid, but solar panels will generate electricity to help offset that electricity draw.
“It’s the beginning of what he hope is going to be a major transition in Australia’s transport system,” Nick Curmi, Site Manager for the Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies told the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC). “Potentially, this has enormous implications if it’s taken up and if it proves to be a truly practical.”
Related articles–>