Solar-charged vehicle

Solar-charged vehicles are vehicles that use off-board renewable electricity that can be generated in the driver's facilities.
They combine renewable energy with all-electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in a different manner than mere solar vehicles. The latter are powered by electricity generated by (flexible) solar panels located directly on the vehicles themselves. In contrast, solar-charged vehicles are indirectly powered by renewable electricity, that is, by electricity generated by solar panels located offboard the vehicle, often on a rooftop of a carport, home or business; these can be grid-connected, or off-grid, and can be located virtually anywhere.
The same vehicle can use offboard renewable electricity and onboard solar panels. Onboard panels can be used to extend the all-electric range or to provide power to vehicle features such as the air conditioning.
In contrast to lightweight vehicles that participate in events such as the World Solar Challenge, solar-charged vehicles can carry more batteries, offer seating for multiple passengers, and be used like internal combustion engine powered vehicles such as cars , motorcycles, bicycles or boats.
The number of solar-charged vehicles is currently small. However, interest in solar-charged vehicles is fast growing. For example, New York City recently saw its first solar-charged plug-in station unveiled. Solar-charged plug-in stations are also appearing in other places such as Hawaii and Japan. In Australia, a solar-charged bus is being used by the City of Adelaide. Some celebrities in the U.S. have also solar-charged their electric vehicles. Electric bicycles are easy to use as solar-charged vehicles because only a rather small panel area is needed (that can be in a solar jacket). Some manufacturers of these vehicles sell their customers solar electricity along with the bicycles.
History
Historically, solar-charged vehicles evolved soon after the first solar racing vehicles of the Tour de Sol in 1985. The organisers introduced racing classes allowing road-side charging with panels carried by support vehicles, and later with electricity from the grid, provided that the team could prove ownership of enough grid-feeding solar panels anywhere in the world. The production and consumption of solar energy became separated both in place and in time. The rooftop solar panels could work at their full capacity whereas on-board panels have nothing to do once the vehicles' batteries are fully charged.
Many of those solar-charging their vehicles in the U.S. are members of a plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) movement which grew out of the opposition to the confiscation and subsequent destruction of EVs such as the General Motors EV1 and the Toyota RAV4 EV by large automakers in the early 2000s.
This movement received a considerable boost with the release of the now cult-classic documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?, produced by Chris Paine. Paine is currently working on a follow-up to this documentary called Revenge of the Electric Car.
Numbers of solar-charged vehicles
It’s unclear how many solar-charged vehicles there are currently in the United States, or the world. Generally, the solar + EV/PHEV synergy - often simply referred to as EV/PV, EV+PV or PVEV-- has so far been the province of a relatively few people, in part because mainstream EVs have not been widely available to consumers. However, it is possible that the comparatively low number of solar-charged vehicles will soon increase as a combination of small automotive start-ups such as Tesla Motors and Coda Automotive and major automakers such as Nissan, GM, Mitsubishi and Ford begin rolling EVs and PHEVs off their assembly lines in large numbers and conversion of combustion vehicles to plug-ins. In fact, Tesla Motors recently delivered its 1,000th Tesla Roadster.
Some Roadster owners have publicized their solar-charged driving experiences with the Tesla Roadster online. Plug In America has also published a list of selected current EV owners on its web site, and many of these use solar energy to fully, or partially, charge the batteries of their EVs.
The Sierra Club has also profiled three solar-charged drivers on its web pages.
Celebrity solar-charged drivers
Perhaps the most famous of those currently driving a solar-charged vehicle is Ed Begley Jr. Begley powers many of his annual miles in a Toyota RAV4 EV with solar-generated electricity. Begley currently has a reality show about green living called Living With Ed on Planet Green with his wife, actress Rachelle Carson. Former Baywatch star and environmental activist Alexandra Paul, has also solar-charged her Toyota RAV4 EV for about a year while living in Malibu, Calif.
Solar-charged buses
Automobiles are not the only solar-charged vehicles. For example, the City of Adelaide, Australia in 2008 purchased a 26 seat electric bus -- which it named Tindo -- whose batteries are 100-percent solar-charged by a solar installation on the Adelaide Central Bus Station. The solar PV system generates nearly 70,000 kilowatt hours of renewable electricity each year and is the city’s largest grid-connected PV system.
The bus has a range of around 200 kilometres. Tindo is the aboriginal word for sun. The few existing electric buses in operation elsewhere are smaller, have a shorter range, and do not have a 100 per cent solar-electric capability.<ref namesolar/>
Solar-charged vehicles and air pollution
Solar-charged vehicles have the potential to substantially reduce air pollution. For example, Environment Texas has published an analysis of more than 40 research reports on the environmental impact of electric cars. Entitled , the report concludes that an electric vehicle fleet powered by renewable electricity, such as solar and wind, could virtually eliminate air pollution in the U.S. More specifically, the report points to a 2003 study by the University of California, Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology which concluded that if half of the light vehicles in the United States were electric vehicles powered by completely clean renewable electricity in 2030, total U.S. fleet emissions would be reduced by 62 percent.

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