General Motors Solar Charging Station
General Motors has taken going green to another level by starting its solar charging station at Genesee County. The Al Serra Auto Plaza in Grand Blanc is among the first in the country with GM’s solar charging station. This is a test run for the more than 2,000 station GM hopes to have in place. The station, which has just opened, has the capacity to charge 12 Chevy Volt’s at one time when all slots will be working, though currently its capacity is four vehicles.
The benefit of the charging station is that it provides 240 volts of power to enable the car to fully charge in four hours. The
re is no cost to the user for charging, so the user is able to run his vehicle without paying for power.The stations are produced by California-based Sunlogics for GM and each costs more than $200,000, but they are leased to the dealers on an annual payment.
What is more, the extra electricity, which is generated by solar power and not used, will go back to the power grid and result in a payment credit to the owner of the station. The Chevy Volt is a fast selling car, which cost only $33,500, given the tax credit given to the buyer. The hybrid car which runs for 50 miles on battery power before switching over to gas, will now be more eco-friendly than before, particularly when more charging stations come up and people use free energy to charge their vehicles.