Solar power offers popular charging source for Chevy Volt

June 2, 2011

Chevrolet Volt owner Mark Hildebrandt in his Saline, Michigan driveway with his Volt electric vehicle with extended range capabilities

Mark Hildebrandt developed an interest in clean energy in the 1970s. Over the years, it became his vocation – he owns a company that installs solar panels – so it’s only natural that he counts on the sun to create the electricity to charge his Chevrolet Volt.

“I made the switch to renewable energy a while ago, and thus with solar energy, I can power my house, charge my Volt and pump energy back into the grid, which I get credit for,” said Hildebrandt, owner of Sunventrix in Saline, Mich., and one of the first Volt purchasers in the state.

“As more Volts are sold, I believe the demand for solar charging stations will increase,” he said. “I have spoken to a handful of Volt owners in Michigan that are really interested in charging their Volts from solar energy.”

Hildebrandt isn’t alone in harnessing the sun for battery power. ZD Wines’ winemaster and CEO, Robert deLeuze, has run his Napa, Calif.-based winery exclusively on solar power since 2007, and today you can often find deLeuza’s Volt among the grape vines charging from the winery’s photovoltaic system.

“Solar power generation makes sense, and I think the Volt will help generate more interest in home installations” said deLeuze. “ZD Wines has had a solar power station for the past three years and purchasing my Volt was a driving factor in installing a solar photovoltaic system at my house.”

According to OnStar data, many Volts are going up to 1,000 miles between gasoline fill-ups.

“The majority of miles driven by Volt customers are powered electrically by the Volt’s battery,” said Cristi Landy, Volt marketing director.

The Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, home of the Volt, is already using sunlight to charge Volts before they are loaded for transport to dealerships. The plant has a 20kW Solar Carport that houses 10 Volt charging stations. Additional charging stations are planned for other locations around the plant.

The Volt’s extended-range capability offers a total driving range of up to 379 miles, based on EPA estimates. For the first 35 miles, the Volt can drive gas- and tailpipe emissions-free using a full charge of electricity stored in its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery. When the Volt’s battery runs low, a gas-powered engine/generator seamlessly operates to extend the driving range another 344 miles on a full tank.

www.chevrolet.com

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http://www.linkedin.com/pub/william-branham/b/700/b8a Bill Branham
21st Century Telecommunications, Inc. has a unique “wireless, Internet and DTV mobile television network concept including renewal energy, transportation, housing and manufacturing.” We are promoting a change in the way we design new communities using a renewal energy systems approach–with sustainable planning, net zero-energy homes, advanced vehicles, and innovative utility interconnections–which will significantly decrease energy use.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/william-branham/b/700/b8a Bill Branham
Led by a Steering Committee representing prominent national industry, NGO, and public organizations, the Zero Energy Commercial Buildings Consortium is a public/private consortium with broad industry representation, working with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop and deliver technology, policies, and practices to achieve a market transition to Zero Net Energy Commercial Buildings by 2030.
http://www.facebook.com/people/William-Branham/1307690940 William Branham
EV batteries offer electricity
storage potential that could provide enormous benefits to the nation’s power system.
By charging primarily at night, they would help to accelerate the incorporation
of intermittent renewables like wind into the grid, because wind tends to be
most potent at night, when demand for electricity is low. EV batteries could
also be tapped by grid operators to store power and to send it back into the
grid, thereby helping to regulate electricity’s flow along transmission and
distribution lines or to provide emergency generation at times when unexpected
power-plant outages occur. They could, in addition, reduce strain at times of
greatest demand by supplying supplementary generating power to the grid or to
the owner’s home.
http://www.facebook.com/people/William-Branham/1307690940 William Branham
The term “vehicle-to-grid”
(V2G) refers to the communication and transfer of electricity between an EV and
the power grid, enabled by the installation of specific technologies. V2G
capabilities allow EVs to perform a variety of services that not only help to
improve the grid’s reliability but also generate cash for car owners. The key
to these benefits lies in the functioning of a vehicle’s battery.