Paired Power Unveils Transportable Pop-up Solar Canopy for Accessible EV Charging
How is Paired Power enabling increased availability of sustainable electric vehicle charging? Meet PairTree, a portable solar canopy that can be installed in under eight hours.
Paired Power Inc. is an energy technology company that focuses on providing solar-powered technology to support the growing infrastructure for electric vehicle (EV) charging. The company’s products and solutions pair solar power with EVs, energy storage, and microgrid technologies. Paired Power has announced the launch of its latest EV charging technology in the form of its transportable, cost-saving solar canopy, PairTree.
Image used courtesy of Pixabay
EV Infrastructure by the Numbers
Even though the establishment of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) will be providing $7.5 billion in funds to develop America’s EV charging infrastructure, this may not be enough. The BIL is set to bring 500,000 EV charging stations to the American people by 2030.
In an article by McKinsey and Company (McKinsey), the management consulting firm estimated the U.S. would need 1.2 million public EV chargers and 28 million private EV chargers by the year 2030. This assumes that 50% of all vehicles sold by this time would be zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs). All in all, the U.S. “would need almost 20 times more chargers than it has now.”
The consulting firm also expressed that establishing a wider network of EV charging stations across the U.S. could help encourage greater adoption of EVs.
Solar Canopy Installation and Maintenance
The Co-Founder and CEO of Paired Power, Tom McCalmont, told EE Power that the process and materials behind solar canopy construction have hardly changed over the last 20 years.
Traditionally, the installation of solar canopies involves rigid foundations made from steel and concrete which require expensive, heavy machinery, and a significant proportion of labor to boot. Typically, labor is intensive with “up-down” construction requiring the use of ladders and lifts to undertake wiring and solar panel fitting on roofs. This mode of working can incur significant time delays for solar canopy set-ups and building permit requirements can take weeks or months to approve.
According to Paired Power, its PairTree solar canopy installation can be achieved in “eight hours or less from arrival on site to a complete and operational unit by the end of the work day.” PairTree features a ballasted steel foundation and needs just two people to complete its installation. Following installation, Paired Power says that end ¿¿users can start charging right away.
Image used courtesy of the University of West London
The solar canopy can be connected to an array of solar panel resources such as “EV chargers, emergency power panels, or net metered connections to the grid for structure/building power,” said McCalmont.
The PairTree can support level two charging through alternating current (AC) charging stations. In the event that temporary or emergency power might be required, 120 volts (V) outlet panels can be fitted.
The PairTree’s lack of moving parts means that limited maintenance is required by engineers. The ability to connect to cellular devices through the cloud means that system updates and diagnostics can be run remotely.
Off-Grid and Grid-Connected
Beyond the power grid’s capacity to distribute electricity to homes in residential areas, there is a need for off-grid charging services that can provide energy to publicly used spaces. Such areas include schools, retail centers, and workplaces (to name a few).
The PairTree Solar Canopy can be used as an off-grid charger with no need to construct new electrical services that might otherwise be required to connect to the utility grid. Like other solar canopy technology on the market, the operation is low-cost because the energy generated is from a free source. Customers can use an app (jointly developed by Paired Power and EvGateway) to access online payment options and support.
The PairTree is transportable and can be relocated. These capabilities provide a cost-saving investment for customers that do not want to install permanent infrastructure.
McCalmont said that the PairTree can also be an asset to the grid, “With an optional grid connection and bi-directional charging enabled, we can expand electrification services wherever constrained distribution networks exist or whenever utility public safety power shut-off events occur.”
Customers can now order the PairTree which is planned for delivery in the second quarter of 2023.
Featured image used courtesy of Adobe Stock
