A solar fuel station charges plug-in vehicles from solar energy generated by photovoltaic panels mounted on carports or adjacent building roofs. These systems are designed so that electricity is fed back to the grid or the onsite host building(s) if no cars are charging. See our fact sheet for more detailed information. Image courtesy of Envision Solar.
How much fuel can a station provide?
Solar fuel stations have the potential to generate enough power to meet the majority of our transportation needs for light duty vehicles. For example, there are approximately 90 million parking spaces in California. If just one-third of all parking spaces in the State were converted to solar fuel stations, they would generate enough fuel to power the average daily commute for the majority of Californian cars on the road.
This potential is incredibly important to ensuring that, as the nation increases its use of alternative fuels, it brings on the cleanest, cheapest, and most non-destructive fuels. As one illustration of this importance, the State of California has set a goal to increase the use of alternative fuels to 26 percent of on-road demand by 2022. Meeting just this goal will require California to add more than one million gallons of alternative fuels per day into the California market for the next 14 years! Solar fuel stations provide a means of achieving such ambitious goals without driving us to plow under the world's rain forests or burn up our own national forests in our fuel tanks.
Reduces GHG Emissions & Criteria Pollutants: Solar fuel stations avoid the emissions associated with producing electricity to fuel plug-in vehicles. A vehicle powered by the sun avoids 4.69 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions compared to an equivalent conventional vehicle.
Builds America's Economy & Generates Green Jobs: Solar fuel stations generate cutting-edge green jobs, from designers to engineers, to steel and cement workers and installers. Currently, there is a high concentration of solar power and advanced technology companies in the United States (770 solar firms in California alone) with the capacity to install solar fuel stations.
Promotes Local Energy Independence: When not fueling cars, solar fuel stations act as distributed generation facilities (or "mini-grids") that feed the larger grid, decreasing the need for peaker plants and transmission lines. In the future, electricity can also be stored in vehicle batteries and fed back to the grid (Vehicle-to-Grid or V2G) to avoid brown and black-outs.
Reduces Petroleum Use: Driving a plug-in will displace most, if not all, of the average American's petroleum use of 500 gallons of gasoline per year.
Generates Renewable Energy: One station with 10 charging spaces generates 30,000 kWh annually, powering approximately 120,000 miles of zero-emissions electric driving per year or feeding the grid with clean power.
Supports the Adoption of Electric Vehicles: Highly visible solar fuel stations will demonstrate to the public that clean fuel is here now ,while boosting consumer confidence that plug-in electric cars can be reliably and cleanly fueled while away from home -- and at a free or substantially cheaper price than gasoline.
Promotes Infill Development: Solar fuel stations use built space, cutting down on the use of virgin land for electricity generation and encouraging infill development.
Provides Shade: Solar fuel carports provide shade to cars, improving people's lives, while reducing the heat island effect of asphalt parking lots. Putting the sun to work for our energy needs, rather than baking our cities, is a strong plus.
Likely spots for solar fuel stations include public parking garages, government and private company parking lots, transportation depots like Amtrak and local subway systems, airports, hospitals, malls, restaurants, and college campuses.
The Amtrak Transit Center in Trenton, New Jersey, has installed solar fuel stations on top of its parking garage for commuters -- an ideal spot! Image courtesy of Premier Power Renewable Energy Inc.
Google, at its Mountain View headquarters in California, developed and installed one of the first solar fuel stations in the nation. Image courtesy of Suntech Energy Solutions, Inc.
UC San Diego has installed solar parking lot arrays over two of its parking garages. Image courtesy of Envision Solar International, Inc.
