New York City now has its first solar powered electric vehicle charging station courtesy of Beautiful Earth Group.
The Brooklyn based company focuses on recycled, green solutions. The solar charging station is made from two cargo containers stacked atop each other. The top container houses the solar panels as well as a battery array to store captured energy. The bottom container houses the company's own Mini E and necessary charging equipment.
Currently, the charging unit is only utilized by the single Mini E owned by the company. According to the company, the solar charging unit is able to fully charge the Mini E within 3 hours. It is located next the to the office of the Beautiful Earth Group and overlooks the New York Harbor.
Beautiful Earth Group choose the shipping containers for their solar charging station because they are plentiful and typically removed from service every five years. Recycling the containers is one way to keep costs low, but as Amanda Cleary of Beautiful Earth Group said to a Edmunds.com contributor, "We liked the idea of using recycled pieces so it's as sustainable as possible."
Though believed to be the first solar charging station in New York City, there are countless private and commercial solar charging stations throughout other parts of the U.S.
There are no immediate plans for the company to build additional solar charging stations at this time.
Source: Edmunds.com
