Electric vehicle DC fast charging network Electrify America has opened 30 solar EV charging stations in rural California – and they’re free for customers.
Electrify America’s solar charging stations
The stations (pictured above), located in 24 communities, feature off-grid, standalone level 2 chargers. So they’re not ultrafast, but again, they’re free, and they’re run by clean energy. Energy storage is built into the stations so they always work regardless of time or weather. So they’re a win for both affordability and public access.
Beam Global (formerly Envision Solar), the San-Diego based clean tech company, manufactured the 30 charging stations in California.
They’re located in rural areas throughout Southern California’s Central Valley and inland areas, in places like Bakersfield, Riverside, and Folsom. Twenty of the 30 solar-powered charging stations are at health care centers. That’s because Electrify America identified educational and health care institutions as ideal charging points because of high amounts of traffic and extended hours of access.
Electrify America says:
Locations were selected after further analyzing communities with the greatest need for charging, existing charging options, and local travel patterns, among other factors.
The chargers can be located by clicking on this link.
Electrify America expects to install or have under development approximately 800 total charging stations with about 3,500 DC fast chargers across the US by December 2021.
Electrek’s Take
Electrify America was created out of Volkswagen Group’s emissions scam settlement. It has $2 billion in funding. Hey, Electrify America. Can we please have lots and lots more free off-grid solar electric vehicle chargers out of that money, seeing how you have to spend it by the end of 2026, and they can be used to serve underserved and disadvantaged communities?
Because then you can put them anywhere, and it’ll also take care of that “range anxiety” thing for those that are thinking of dipping their toe into becoming EV owners. The more charging stations people see outside of obvious places, the more likely they’ll be to go electric – let’s normalize them. Plus, it’s of course great for those who already have EVs.
Photo: Electrify America
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Author: Michelle Lewis
Source: Electrek
