The good news about electric vehicles: they are not dependent on crude-based petroleum fuels like gasoline or diesel. The bad news: in many cases, the power used to charge these vehicles can come from pollution-spewing coal-fired electrical plants.
But now the UK-based green energy company Ecotricity is looking to address that issue throughout Britain by introducing solar and wind-powered charging stations.
The company’s plan, called “For the Road Electric Highway Initiative” takes a page from the United States where solar-powered charging stations are becoming more and more popular. These new stations can now be found throughout the UK.
But the addition of a wind-powered electric vehicle charging station is unusual. There is currently one station, situated in Reading’s Green Park business park, which is connected to a wind turbine. It has a height of 280 feet with a 230 foot diameter rotor. The six-year old turbine can generate 3.5 million units a year.
Four Electric Highway stations are open right now, while eight more are scheduled to open within the next month.
The solution is extremely logical, as electric cars can be both a blessing and a curse. They decrease dependency on foreign oil, but a glut of electric vehicle charging stations could put a strain on the electric power grid in some cities. A green solution, using solar or wind power, would help alleviate that strain and greatly reduce carbon footprints.
Ecotricity also has an initiative, called Green Gas, in place to generate cooking and heating gas from organic waste.
In related news, GE Industrial Solutions in Fairfield, CT has, since May, offered six Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations for employees. These stations are powered by on-site solar generators.
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Rich Steeves is a TMCnet copy editor. He taught writing for nine years. He has also worked as an editorial assistant at Penny Publications. He has written short stories, newspaper columns, blogs and recently published his first novel. He attended The George Washington University where he received his bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.Edited by
Jennifer Russell
