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Blog Volt Chevrolet Volt Owners ‘Charging on Sunshine’

Chevrolet Volt Owners ‘Charging on Sunshine’

deLeuze2More and more people are using the ultimate source of renewable energy to power the Chevrolet Volt: the sun.

Take for example Mark Hildebrandt (below) of Saline, Michigan. Mark is one of the first Volt owners in the state and owns Sunventrix, a company that installs solar panels. He uses the sun to power his house, charge his Volt and even sends energy back into the electric grid, which he gets credit for.  Mark believes that as more Volts are sold, more and more owners may look into solar energy to power their vehicles.

Hildebrandt2Mark isn’t alone in harnessing the sun for battery power. ZD Wines' winemaster and CEO, Robert deLeuze (above), has run his Napa, Calif.-based winery exclusively on solar power since 2007. Visit the winery and you may catch a glimpse of deLeuze’s Volt among the grape vines charging from the winery’s photovoltaic system.

The Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, home of the Volt, already uses sunlight to charge Volts before they are loaded for transport to dealerships. The plant has a 20kW Solar Carport that houses 10 Volt charging stations.  There are also plans for additional charging stations for other locations around the plant. In fact, General Motors and DTE Energy recently announced plans to build the largest solar array in Southeast Michigan at the plant.

For more on this story, check out this great write-up by Torque News.

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written by Ricky Rines, October 04, 2011
That's about one half mile per day... if you live in a very sunny climate. It makes much, much, more sense to install solar PV on your house. http://www.templatesspot.com/
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written by ThomasMcFarland, May 29, 2011
Arizona Volt 2036 in Yuma AZ. We have solar system with excess capacity and covered our whole electric bill last year. So its like driving for no money ay all.
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written by siyu, May 28, 2011
Ditto. Arizona Volt 3082 on "custom charger", 6Kw tracking solar system....
Old summer AC bill $500/mo. Last 3 years summer AC bill $100/mo; already paid for
half the system.

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written by Kag, May 28, 2011
Live in So. Cal. Leased solar panels from solar city, love driving my Chevy Volt on Solar!! Saving over $250 mo on gas and cutting CO2 emissions. Love it!
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written by VV, May 27, 2011
How great! I wish solar panels would be a bit more affordable for average family, at least in FL.
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written by Richard Grahman, May 27, 2011
We have solar and have not paid for electricity the past three years. We have
ended each year with a surplus. We have had our Volt for five months and are still producing enough electricity to cover the daily charges as well as all the household needs. We have used 21 gallons of gasoline this year!!!
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written by jim1961, May 27, 2011
For anyone who thinks solar panels on an electric car is a good idea, consider the following: Fisker is offering a solar option on the upcoming Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid. According to Fisker, the solar panel will extend the range by 200 miles... per year. That's about one half mile per day... if you live in a very sunny climate. It makes much, much, more sense to install solar PV on your house.
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written by Michael Walker, May 27, 2011
Why don't they just manufacture the volt with a solar panel in the sunroof, always thought the sunroof was an oxymoron anyways, lets make the name legitimate by creating power for the grid when acres of cars are parked on asphalt parking lots for 8 hours a day and than they will be fully charged for long commutes home, not so much as in miles but as in hours on the road in traffic congested metro areas that have ignored the need of a mass rail system for decades to protect the oil and automobile industries.
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written by Michael Walker, May 27, 2011
Well the sooner the volt or some electric/hybrid can transport 6 the sooner I will buy one but my SUV is the only thing that can haul all the kids and there stuff while they are still in car seats.
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written by andrew w, May 27, 2011
if i knew for sure when the Volt was going to be sold in La(Shreveport), i would to be able to do exactly that.

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