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Envision Solar’s EV ARC “Portable” Solar-Powered Electric Vehicle Charger, just $40,000

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Envision Solar EV ARC is Portable(-ish) and Clean
Envision Solar EV ARC is Portable(-ish) and Clean

At $40,000, the Envision Solar EV ARC is probably out of the range of most owners of low-end electric vehicles, but could it find application in remote areas?

Electric-vehicle owners have the option of using the basic charge cable, which runs off a standard 120V line, but this is the slow route, and not for everyone. LII chargers can be installed for up to $3,000, often made part of the deal when purchasing the vehicle. Perhaps the cleanest way to charge your electric vehicle would be to install a solar-powered charging system, such as that offered by Honda and SolarCity, but then, your house isn’t portable, that is, if you move you can’t take it with you.

Envision Solar has a novel idea, a portable solar-powered electric-vehicle charging station, the EV ARC. Worth about $40,000 per unit, it’s basically like buying a second car. Most of the money and weight, all 10,000lb of it, is taken up by a 22kWh onboard battery that is used to store energy collected by the self-tracking solar panel canopy. At 22kWh, the battery does have enough to recharge a low-end EV, such as the Nissan Leaf, equipped with a 24kWh lithium-ion battery pack, but would only be able to give a quarter charge to something like the Tesla Model S 85kWh.

Who would buy the EV ARC? Some might suggest the military, who’s been showing interest in energy sources that do not rely on foreign petroleum, and who also has the money to burn. Personally, if my wallet could handle it, I’d airdrop a Nissan Leaf, Envision Solar EV ARC, and a ZERO Electric Motorcycle out next to my solar-powered house by the lake in the mountains and never pay a cent in gasoline again. [Keep dreaming, Ben.]

Image © Envision Solar

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