Nissan Goes Solar With Electric Car Charging Station at TN HQ

By Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield

Contributing Writer BIO

Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield is a self-confessed petrol head. She grew up in a carless family but was able at a very early age to name cars passing her on... More

LATEST ARTICLE
Volvo S60 KERS Hybrid Prototype: Brief First Drive
Can you really improve fuel economy and performance just by taking a production car with a... Read More

• #13LEADERBOARD RANK
• 1409ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
• 22COMMENTS POSTED

927 views Feb 28, 2011

Follow Nikki

Add to circle

2011 Nissan Leaf

Enlarge Photo

While the majority of its vehicles will be gasoline powered for the foreseeable future, Nissan North America has taken more steps towards zero emissions motoring for its headquarters in Franklin, TN with an 18 vehicle solar charging station to supplement the already existing electric vehicle charging facilities there. 

Consisting of around 300 square feet of solar panels, the proposed facility should give Nissan an eco-friendly way of charging its electric fleet, provided planning permission is given by Franklin city planners. 

Initially the facility will only be available for use by Nissan employees, but John Harris, director of facilities, environmental and systems engineering at Nissan North America confirmed that the public will eventually get to use it in a conversation with The Tennessean’s Kevin Walters

Brighton Earthship Solar Panels by Flickr user Dominic's Pics

Enlarge Photo

“Ultimately, there will be a way that the public can use it. We don’t want to have our toys and not share them, if you will”

The charging facility will be grid connected, meaning it will be able to provide power to the electricity grid in low demand periods, and pull extra grid power in high demand periods. 

If approved, Nissan North America will be collecting data from the charging facility and sharing it with research partners at the Tennessee Valley Authority, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Electric Power Research Institute in Knoxville. 

Nissan’s proposed facility will join already existing public solar charging projects in Pulaski, Tennessee, California and Arizona. 

Nissan representatives have not disclosed the cost of the charging stations, referring to the installation as a research facility. 

GM Zaragoza Solar

Enlarge Photo

Unfortuately, Nissan's project pales into insignificance when compared to General Motor's own solar power installation at its Zaragoza Plant in Spain, where 2 million square feet of solar panels collect almost 12 megawatts of power at full output.  Admittedly, the Zaragoza plant is used pirmarily to run the factory, although we think perhaps there's some spare to charge the some 2011 Chevrolet Volts as well. 

[The Tennessean]