Tesla Supercharger Stations
A friend just asked me what I think of the Tesla Supercharger stations.
I think it’s a good concept overall, from the standpoint of the EV adoption curve, though this is a bit misleading. In the middle of a sunny day, i.e., under perfect conditions, I estimate that it would take 5 – 6 hours for the PV array shown there to charge ONE Tesla-S. I.e., implying that they are charging those cars purely with solar energy is disingenuous.
Making electric transportation work ecologically requires charging without increasing the amount of coal that’s burned, and that’s not an easy feat. We’ll get there, but we’re not there now.
It would be possible, although very expensive and probably not very practical, for all the stations to recharge cars with solar energy alone. but to do so, a huge area would be required for the PV systems and power from the PV systems would have to be stored and later delivered to the cars.