Health & Fitness
Ford and SunPower Team Up To Reduce the Cost of Charging Electric Vehicles
Solar recharging for electric vehicles can cover the cost for recharging and if widely adopted will help drive down the cost for solar panels.
Ford plans to introduce five new models of electric vehicles in the US by 2012. To offset the cost of electricity for recharging Ford has teamed up with SunPower to offer a high efficiency roof top solar power system that will provide vehicle owners enough renewable energy production to offset the energy used for charging.
This option will be especially attractive in the Eastern United States where the cost of electricity is higher and much of that electricity is obtained from coal burning power plants.
"The 2.5 kilowatt SunPower system will produce an estimated 3,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. SunPower systems are backed by a 25-year warranty."
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The base price for the SunPower solar system is $10,000, after federal tax credits. Local and state rebates, along with other incentives, may reduce the cost further depending upon a customers location. Included in the price is a residential monitoring system to track system performance via computer or an iPhone application.
If a business or homeowner in Washington were to contract with a local company to build a rooftop electric vehicle recharging station using Washington made Silicon Energy panels they would be eligible for an additional tax credit.
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Cost of design and installation would depend upon the company hired and the feasibility of each unique site.
Ford also announced a deal with "Best Buy" to offer a 240-volt home charging station for the Focus Electric and future electric vehicle owners. "The goal of working with both SunPower and Best Buy was to offer Focus Electric oweners solutions to charging needs that help lower the vehicles overall cost of ownership." Said Mike Tinskey, ford director of Global Vehicle Electrification and infrastructure.If a business or homeowner in Washington were to contract with a local company to build a rooftop electric vehicle recharging station using Washington made Silicon Energy panels they would be eligible for an additional tax credit.
The 240-volt charger will provide a full charge in 3 to 4 hours. You can look at the Ford website to review all the technological advances.
As adoption of electric vehicles and solar recharging stations increases demand for solar power generation the cost per solar panel is expected to continue to drop.
