A Vermont company called Solaflect Energy is trying to make a business out of directly charging cars from a smallish (6 KW) solar array deployed in parking lots. Each unit has four chargers attached.
Seven Days Vt has the story, which unlike a lot of popular press accounts of solar power does the math.
There are a few downsides to not being connected to the grid, however. For one, the chargers only work when the sun is shining. A small battery on the unit manages the flow of electrons but does not store them.
There’s also a limit to how much juice the 6.2-kilowatt array can provide. While the system’s 16 solar panels are 40 percent more efficient than fixed versions because they follow the arc of the sun, they can only produce enough electricity for about 120 miles of total driving. If four EVs are hooked up to the array all day, that means each will only get about a 30-mile boost in range.
The company pitches the systems as topping-off chargers that businesses install as an employee incentive, which makes a lot of sense.
The units have four Level 2 chargers and cost about $50,000 each, but Solaflect is leasing them to organizations for $4,000 per year. A couple colleges and one company, Hypertherm in Hanover, have installed them, the article said.
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