Charging network EVgo announced recently that it signed contracts with all its power providers to deliver clean energy to its chargers throughout the United States.
The company claims it will be the first charging network in the U.S. to provide 100 percent renewable energy generated electricity, and noted that it already pays for all of its electricity in California to come at least indirectly from wind and solar power.
EVgo did not say whether all the renewable energy generated electricity it will buy outside of California will come solely from wind and solar or whether it could include energy from other renewable sources such as hydro power or biomass.
Of course, not every electron that flows into electric cars that plug in at EVgo charging stations will come from wind or solar power generated electricity. EVgo’s decision to pay extra for renewable energy generated electricity means the money drivers pay to charge on its network will go back to support the growth of renewable energy.
As the electric grid becomes greener — in part because of investments such as those by EVgo — more and more of the electricity that flows directly into the batteries of your electric car as you charge at an EVgo station will, in fact, be renewable energy generated.
According to GreenCarReports.Com, EVgo has installed a variety of battery backups at several of its California stations to test what types of systems remain the most cost effective over the long run.
EVgo also installed a fast-charging solar-array canopy at a fast-charge station in Baker, Calif., in the desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas last year, thus directly increasing the number of Sun Miles® driven by its customers.