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Honda Partners with SolarCity for Solar Charging System

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Rooftop Solar Panel Collects Energy to Charge an Electric Vehicle - Low Cost, Zero Emissions
Rooftop Solar Panel Collects Energy to Charge an Electric Vehicle – Low Cost, Zero Emissions

Honda and SolarCity have recently announced plans to collaborate on a solar charging system for the Fit EV electric vehicle.

There are a lot of great things that come in pairs, like they were made for each other. Peanut butter and jelly, chocolate and peanut butter [my wife does not agree with this], and electric vehicles and solar power.

There are some opponents of electric vehicles, who say, “electric vehicles are not emissions-free, they emit just as much carbon dioxide as conventional vehicles,” which is not entirely untrue, but very misleading. According to my research, recharging and electric vehicle in most states you can significantly reduce your carbon footprint.

The best way to clean up your electric vehicle emissions could be to install a hydroelectric dam, but not everyone has space for one of these. On the other hand, there’s plenty of unused space on the roof, the perfectly exposed place to put a solar installation.

Most companies have recognized the benefits of such a partnership, between electric vehicles and solar power, including Tesla Motors and SolarCity partnering to deploy the Tesla Supercharger Network, most of which should be at least partially solar powered. Nissan and Ford have partnered with SunPower to add clean power generation to recharge the Leaf and Focus EV models.

Honda and SolarCity have recently announced plans to collaborate on a solar charging system for the Fit EV electric vehicle. Some people may argue, though, “there have always been solar roof installations, why is this any different?” True, there have been solar power installations for the last thirty years, but unless you take advantage of tax incentives, there will be a lot of money coming out of your own pockets to fund the project. Solar power is still fairly expensive so, to get around the expense, SolarCity sells just the power to the customer.

True, SolarCity absorbs the initial cost of the solar panels, installation, and system monitoring equipment, and the customer gets electricity at a rate cheaper than the utility for a period of time, probably until the utility bill surpasses the price of the equipment. During this period, SolarCity continues to maintain the installation. For the entire duration, a Honda Fit EV owner can charge emissions-free from the solar charging system. Once ownership of the system passes to the customer, it’s essentially free. Not a bad deal.

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