Solar Carports Boost EVs’ Green Credentials

With the popularity of Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf, two mainstream electric vehicles that recently hit the market, solutions are popping up to fuel them with clean energy. And nothing is cleaner than solar power.

Envision Solar is one company that plays a key role in this business. According to Get Solar, the company made an agreement with General Motors to build two different types of solar carports to charge the Chevy Volt. Carports are shelter-like stations equipped with PV panels so they serve a double purpose: protect the car from the sun and charge them at the same time.

Tennessee’s SMART stations

According to Cars.com, in Tennessee, the Valley Authority (TVA) in conjunction with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has created stations called Smart Modal Area Recharge Terminal (SMART) that can deliver power from solar cells on top of a carport to three battery packs stored indoors which are the size of a refrigerator.

The electricity will come from the solar cells and from the grid because the idea is to send electricity back to the grid when no one is charging. Cars will recharge with stored energy before drawing from the grid.

The SMART station is the first public electric vehicle charging station of its kind. It is located at EPRI’s Knoxville Research Laboratory.

Features include:
• Six parking spaces (10-space stations are planned for the future), each supplying enough power to charge most electric vehicles in three to eight hours, depending on the make of the vehicle.
• An electric plug designated as the industry standard by the Society of Automotive Engineers that will accommodate all future plug-in vehicles made for the U.S. market.
• About 2 kilowatts of solar photovoltaic panels per charging space.
• About 5 kilowatt-hours of stationary battery storage per charging space to assist vehicle charging and send power to the grid during periods of peak electricity demand. The batteries also will support the local power grid by lessening the effects of charging multiple cars in one location.
• Advanced measurement and controls that will collect data about charging electric vehicles.

EV benefits
“Electricity as a transportation fuel can benefit the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and it can save consumers money by lowering their driving costs,” said Anda Ray, TVA senior vice president of Environment and Technology. “These all-in-one charging stations are important to the development of electric vehicles and also to TVA’s goal to provide cleaner, low-cost energy.”

The trial period will last between three to six months. 125 additional stations are planned for after that and these will be built in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville and possibly other sites over the next few years. Access to the stations initially will be limited to researchers.

“The data collected from these stations will help us to understand station performance, customer charging preferences and grid impact”, said Mark McGranaghan, EPRI vice president of Power Delivery and Utilization.

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