Summit County Citizens Voice

Innovative Energy underwrites coverage of energy stories.

An electric car plugged into an on-street charging station in London. PHOTO FROM FLICKR USER frankh VIA WIKIPEDIA. (Creative Commons)

Prototype electric car charging station to be unveiled

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Switching to renewable energy sources means much more than just shutting down coal-fired power plants and setting up a bunch windmills and solar panels.

Large parts of the country’s energy infrastructure will have to retooled, including what we now call gas stations. Instead of filling the tank with refined petroleum, drivers in the renewable energy era will recharge electric batteries.If you’ve been curious about what that might look like, tune in next week, when the Electric Power Research Institute and the Tennessee Valley Authority will unveil a prototype of what they are calling a 6-bay “integrated solar-assisted electric vehicle charging station.”

The demonstration is scheduled for Jan. 25, 9 a.m. at the EPRI lab in Knoxville, Tenn.

In a press release, EPRI said the prototype is one of the first in the U.S. that incorporates energy storage technology in its design. More efficient energy storage is one of the keys to successfully integrating renewable power into the grid. Since the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow, researchers are racing to find better ways of making sure the energy generated from those sources is available during down times.

The prototype station will produce data that will assist in implementing key components of a smart grid, such as integrating renewable energy resources — wind power and solar — onto the grid, assessing the impact on reliability of a distributed resource generation, testing advance metering infrastructure and analyzing electric vehicle supply equipment.

EPRI and TVA undertook the development of the design of this station with Eaton Corporation as a contractor to create a model-charging facility that could serve as a prototype for future stations throughout the country.

Filed under: Colorado, energy, Environment Tagged: | Charging station, Eaton Corporation, Electric Power Research Institute, Electric vehicle, energy, Environment, renewable energy, Summit County News, Tennessee Valley Authority