As fuel prices soar and consumers turn their backs on costly gas-guzzling cars, more people are switching to electric vehicles (EV) for both environmental and financial reasons.
Most major car makers have their model: the Prius; the Volt; the Leaf; the Naimo – and as EV usage grows, demand for clean sources of energy for recharging electric vehicles is climbing.
Cashing in on this demand, U.S. solar provider SolarCity is teaming up with EV charging station supplier ClipperCreek to install recharge points at its 24 operations centres nationwide, making it the largest single provider of EV, solar and energy efficiency services in the U.S.
SolarCity say their rooftop solar lease scheme, combined with an installed ClipperCreek EV charging station, would allow a home or business in San Francisco to operate a standard EV at $53 per month, compared to $230 per month on petrol – a 77% reduction in cost.
In other corporate news, American automotive icon General Motors is also looking to the power of the sun in an effort to drive up the company’s prospects in the EV age.
General Motors Ventures LLC, has announced a $7.5 million investment in Sunlogics PLC, a solar energy company specialising in the installation and development of solar power systems.
The deal is part of General Motors’ greening of the company image. GM says they are committed to doubling solar energy output by the end of 2015.
A purchase agreement has been signed with Sunlogics to install solar power on GM buildings, Chevolet dealerships, and to build solar charging canopies for GM’s Chevy Volt EV.
“We believe that investing in renewable energy is a smart and strategic business decision, and the Chevrolet solar charging canopy project complements our electrification strategy that started with the Chevrolet Volt by helping our cars live up to their fullest green potential,” said Jon Lauckner, president of GM Ventures.
Sunlogics say some of the capital will go towards establishing a headquarters in Detroit, and to set up a manufacturing facility in Ontario, Canada. “The partnership provides a new level of opportunity to the larger scale industrial solar projects Sunlogics designs, manufactures and constructs,” Matvieshen said. “We are looking forward to further assisting our customers in reducing their carbon footprint with sustainable renewable energy.”
