Just when you thought your grid-tied EV charging station was cool along comes the world’s first wind-powered electric vehicle charging station.
The Sanya Skypump, a collaboration between Urban Green Energy and General Electric, was introduced earlier this week in Barcelona at the headquarters of Cespa, an environmental services subsidiary of Ferrovial Servicios. It combines UGE’s 4K vertical wind turbine with GE’s Durastation EV charging technology in a single tower, making it an all-in-one energy generation and EV charging station. At a height of 42 feet, the vertical-axis turbine requires winds of at least 7 MPH in order to generate electricity.
“Since launching the Sanya Skypump, we have received inquiries from companies around the world that are looking to embrace sustainability,” said Nick Blitterswyk, CEO of UGE. “The Sanya Skypump is one of those rare products that enable institutions to demonstrate their commitment to the environment while providing a really useful service as well.”
This is the first of many Skypumps to be installed this year with more coming online soon at shopping malls and universities here in the U.S. and in Australia. In addition, I would think that many EV owners would be interested in having a Skypump of their own, skipping the higher electric bills that often come with grid-tied chargers. And because Urban Green Energy’s website states that the company has “designed our Sanya line for quick and easy assembly of all its components” in just two hours, are fully self-enclosed, and installation is “is far from rocket science,” it may not be too far off that EV owners can have a private Skypump right in their own backyard.
[via Autoblog Green]
Image Credit: Urban Green Energy