Here’s how much it costs to charge your EV with rooftop solar power

In today’s Electek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• In the United States, charging an electric vehicle with solar power on the roof is cheaper than using the grid or public chargers.
• El Salvador is commissioning its very first wind farm.
• UnderstandingSolar is a free service that connects you with the top rated solar installers in your area for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to research the best quotes. Click here to find out more and get your quotes. – * a d.

Charging an EV with solar power on the roof

If the solar power on the roof of the house is used to charge an electric car in the United States, it costs only $ 415 per year, compared to $ 662 on the home electric grid per year and $ 1,058 per year. with a public EV charger, according to a study conducted by the installation of solar panels. reviews the SolarReviews website. The study also found that it costs up to $ 1,260 per year to fill a gasoline car’s tank.

A typical solar EV charging setup includes: rooftop solar panels, a central string inverter that combines the DC output of the solar panels with AC, and a Level 2 EV charger. SolarReviews estimates that five solar panels are required to charge one. VE.

According to the US Department of Transportation, the average American travels about 13,500 miles per year, or about 40 miles per day.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Load type	Cost	Remarks
Public charging stations	$ 0.28 to $ 0.69 per kWh	Varies depending on the location and owner of the charging station; additional inactivity fees; some require a monthly subscription; the cost increases over time
Home network power	$ 0.10 to $ 0.40 per kWh	Varies depending on location and time; cheaper at night; the cost increases over time
Solar energy at home	Less than $ 11.1 per kWh	Leveled over the lifetime of the solar panels; additional solar energy can be used to offset the electricity bill

Home solar charging also contributes the least to carbon emissions, as electricity from the grid still comes mostly from fossil fuels.

In almost all states, the long-term cost of rooftop solar panels is lower than purchasing electricity from the grid, where the average cost per kilowatt hour increases over time. The discounted cost of home solar power will remain constant and, in most cases, will be cheaper than grid electricity. SolarReviews estimates that charging an EV with solar power for 25 years could save $ 16,250 by the time the solar panel production warranty ends.

Salvador wind farm

Despite the challenges of devastating hurricanes, floods and landslides in 2020, El Salvador’s very first wind farm, the Ventus Wind Project, is now live. The 54-megawatt wind farm, located in Metapán, in the northwest of the country, consists of 15 Vestas V136-3.6 MW turbines.

Power generation developer Tracia Network Corporation, a subsidiary of Guatemalan conglomerate Grupo Centrans, commissioned the wind farm and worked with US consulting firm ArcVera Renewables.

The new wind farm will help reduce El Salvador’s dependence on imported fossil fuels, which accounted for 69% of its total energy supply in 2019, according to IRENA. Another 19.6% comes from bioenergy. It will also ensure greater stability in energy prices and diversify the national electricity grid.

The Ventus wind farm will prevent the emission of around 200,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Photo: Electrify America

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