Since the announcement of Tesla’s Supercharger stations and their fast-charging network in 2012, Tesla has spread the news about adding solar arrays and batteries to the stations, but not many stations received solar array. Only half a dozen stations out of 800 stations have this feature.
More battery and solar systems will consist of the new ‘Version 3’ of the Supercharger say chief executive officer Elon Musk. But that is not the surprising news, he also said that “almost all Superchargers will disconnect from the electricity grid.”
In a former statement, Musk said that with the new Powerpack and solar arrays will be able to power Supercharger stations in sunlit districts to go off-grid. He also said that the grid will not be necessary for balanced use of Superchargers in snowless regions.
It is arguable to increase the number of solar arrays and battery packs, but the reason for cutting off completely from the grid remains uncertain, especially when the grid still has some worth when net metering is on.
As said earlier Musk was saying on Twitter that almost all Supercharger stations will disconnect from the grid. But a frustrated user revealed that Superchargers use electricity from coal plants, saying: “Unfortunately I can stand at the Tesla Superchargers and see the coal power plant. Play the shell game all you want these are coal powered.” He points out that is ironic to promote less polluting and charge vehicles with coal.
A recent study of electricity generation states that the average electric car in the US now gets the equivalent efficiency of a non-existent 73mpg gas-powered vehicle after accounting for emission from electricity production.
Electric cars efficiency remains better than gas-powered cars. Gas-powered cars are not that efficient even in places where coal outsources electricity. However, Musk still wants to expand the electricity car industry. He is planning to Tesla’s Supercharger network off-grid with a purpose to increase the coming of sustainable energy.
How many solar arrays Tesla would need differs in the size and population of a Supercharger station. In widely used station the company will need a compelling amount of solar arrays. This means for a large station they will large solar arrays- almost a soccer field in size. It is confusing how they will manage this if there are no thrilling improvements in efficiency.
