National solar tech provider extends services to electric vehicle chargers
SolarCity, a solar integration and financing company that is steadily pushing its services across the United States and has some pretty impressive buddies including Google, is adding solar-powered electric vehicle chargers to its bag of tricks.
The initiative has two parts. First, the company has teamed with electric charger maker ClipperCreek to install its technology at the 24 operations centers that SolarCity manages. Those operations centers support the company's installation activities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington, D.C.
ClipperCreek's technology is a 240-volt Level II electric vehicle charger, priced at $1,500. It is compatible with the Chevrolet Volt, Ford Transit Connect, Nissan Leaf, Tesla Roadster and SAE-compatible hybrid vehicles (including some that are in the new car pipeline). Level II chargers work faster than a 120-volt wall outlet, roughly five times faster.
SolarCity also works with Toyota as the distributor of the electric vehicles chargers for Toyota Tsusho.
Aside from being a solar installer, SolarCity provides energy-efficiency services for its residential and commercial customers, so this is a logical extension of its services.
Notes SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive:
"Electric cars are already among the cleanest-running vehicles on the road -- charging them on solar makes them that much better. Tens of thousands of electric cars will be delivered over the next year alone, with hundreds of thousands expected over the next five years. We're making it easier to power them with carbon-free electricity for zero emissions as well as dramatically reducing the cost of driving."
If you can't stomach the aesthetic or financial impact of investing in solar energy at your home or business, this might be one way to test things out in a smaller way.
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com