Envision Installs EV-Charging-Enabled Solar-Tracking ‘Trees’
Solar Industry
Envision Solar International Inc., a designer and developer ofsustainable infrastructure, has commenced the installation ofelectric-vehicle (EV)-charging-enabled solar-tracking trees at AxionPower International’s facility in western Pennsylvania.
Theinstallation is being financed through a Pennsylvania state grant tofund the deployment of the EnvisionTrak and CleanCharge Solar Trees. Itis expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2011.
According to Envision Solar, the installation will enable the companies to learnmore about the characteristics of solar energy in the region and how tobetter tie solar energy to Axion’s Power Cube system. The technicalfocus will be on the load management and power smoothing required due to the intermittency of solar resources.
Envision Solar’s SolarTree with EnvisionTrak is a parking-lot solar array that incorporatessolar tracking into the primary structure of its canopy. The solutiontracks the movement of the sun throughout the day, which is animprovement over static solar arrays, which only generate a maximumoutput when the sun is at its peak, the companies explain.
SOURCES: Envision Solar, Axion Power International
