Monday, September 28, 2009 at 10:05:31 AM - by Jeanne Roberts

Only in California, some observers are saying, but solar enthusiasts see the solar electric car charging stations as the wave of future.

A joint venture between Foster City-based SolarCity and San Carlos-based Tesla Motors, the solar charging stations will be placed at four specific Rabobank locations (Salinas, Atascadero, Santa Maria and Goleta) along the 101 route from San Francisco to Los Angeles, one of the most heavily traveled roadways in the world.

Rabobank, another participant in the revolutionary endeavor, is an international financial services provider located in 16 countries with headquarters in the Netherlands. Together, the three entities now offer solar charging venues to Tesla drivers.

Next year, according to SolarCity spokesman Jonathan Bass, the company will refit the charging stations to correspond to standards established by the Society of Automotive Engineers, making them available to drivers of other electric vehicles as well.

The solar charging stations are part of a marketing strategy, of course, but they also represent the companies’ focus on reducing the use of fossil fuels and the attendant emissions that contribute to global warming.

To Lyndon Rive, SolarCity’s CEO, they represent the “escape hatch” by which today’s consumers can escape the carbon economy. This is, in spite of its consumer-culture orientation, a worthy target. Rive is also adding some other incentives to the campaign, namely the purchase of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system with its own, free, EV (electronic vehicle) system.

SolarCity, founded in 2006, is one of the few solar installers to offer financing options to both commercial and residential solar energy customers. The Sept. 18 purchase of SolSource Energy (a solar installer offering electric car charging stations) allowed SolarCity to move confidently into this new venue.

Funding for the project came from the California Air Resources Board, which in 2007 provided a grant to Tesla of $641,000, according to Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Konrad. Part of that grant went into the cooperative development, with Auburn-based EV supplier Clipper Creek, of a fast-charging unit that Tesla has named the “High Power Connector”. This unit delivers up to 70 amps (240 volts) of electricity, which can charge the Tesla Roadster in as few as 3.5 hours.

The balance, about $80,000, went into establishing the charging spots and buying equipment for the installations. SolarCity also installed a 30-kilowatt solar energy array at the Rabobank’s bank's Santa Maria branch, and a power purchase agreement will allow the bank to pay for the electricity generated while SolarCity maintains ownership of the array and the charging stations. Rabobank will cover the costs of recharging, which aren’t expected to be significant given the small number of Tesla electric vehicles currently on California roads, but that will likely change in the near future as auto makers ramp up EV production.

The High Power Connector comes with a price tag of $3,000, but can be installed in any garage or carport with a 15-amp circuit. Tesla cars can also be charged with any 110-volt outlet, but this process can take up to 1.5 days.