A new solar-powered electric vehicle charger installed at Dartmouth College is helping drive us toward a cleaner, healthier future, according to Electrek.
This innovative off-grid charging station, designed by Solaflect Energy, is powering up college-employee EVs while demonstrating the immense potential of solar.
Transportation is a leading source of the pollution that is overheating our planet. As more people switch to driving EVs to reduce pollution, we'll need to charge up with electricity generated from clean, renewable sources like the sun.
That's where this EV solar charger comes in.
The system's four Level 2 charging ports are fueled by a 6.2-kilowatt solar array mounted on a dual-axis tracker, as Electrek details. By following the sun's movement throughout the day, the tracker harvests a whopping 40% more solar energy than standard fixed panels. All that extra sunshine means more clean power for EVs.
While typical EV charging stations require expensive infrastructure and a grid connection, the Solaflect charger is 100% off-grid — no digging, no grid-connection wiring, and no costly demand charges for grid-sourced electricity.
The concrete base sits right on the parking lot lines, so not a single parking space is sacrificed, according to Electrek. The array's climate-resilient design helps it shed snow, stow away during high winds, and stay high and dry in floods. It'll keep on cranking out clean power even if the grid goes down.
"This solar electric vehicle charger is a part of the college's efforts to make our [transportation systems] more sustainable," said Marcus Welker, assistant director of sustainability at Dartmouth College, per Electrek.
Over its 25-year life span, one of Solaflect's transportable stations can provide a million miles of solar-powered driving with minimal operating and maintenance costs, according to company claims cited by the news outlet. As EV adoption grows, the flexible design allows the college to easily scale up or relocate chargers to meet transportation demand.
By tapping into the sun's abundant power, Solaflect's innovation allows EVs to drive on truly clean energy. This cuts down on the dirty gas pollution that harms our health and overheats our planet.
The company plans to expand to offer its EV solar charger for lease or purchase across the U.S. following initial rollouts in New England.
So, next time you spot a solar array silently tracking the sun in a parking lot, think of all the EVs it could be powering up with 100% renewable energy. Homegrown solar solutions like this one are helping put us on the road to a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable future for all.
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