First solar charging point installed in New York

Beautiful Earth Group, a sustainable energy firm, had earlier unveiled the first solar-powered charging station for electric cars in New York.

The newly installed charging point will also let the company to recharge its electric-powered MINI E vehicle using solar power, making it one of the few automobiles to run fully on solar energy. The off-grid charging point has solar panels and has been built using recycled steel shipping containers. Lex Heslin, chief executive and president of the group, gladly said that the 95mph MINI E car does not use gasoline at all and that its power is coming from the solar energy.

The energy firm informed that the electric car charging point has about six kilowatts capacity that can be utilized to power a small home. It added that the station has an integrated battery bank that automatically stores electricity to ensure that the system can continuously provide power everyday.

The announcement came in the same week as the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, revealed plans to install 25,000 charging points across the UK capital city, including 22,500 near workplaces, 2,000 in car parking lots and 500 in main roads. The mayor informed as well that the Transport for London will create a one-stop online site that will supply electric vehicle owners with information on accessing charging stations across the city.

Johnson earlier revealed in one of Copenhagen’s main sessions his ambitious project to turn London into ‘Europe’s electric car capital’. He further vowed that each London resident will be within one mile distance from an electric car recharging station by 2015.