Tonneau covers are already a popular option for pickup owners—allowing more secure, weather-protected storage, and perhaps even improved aerodynamics and highway efficiency. Adding solar panels to tonneau covers seems not only like a natural next step, but a natural complement to the numerous fully electric pickups arriving over the next... Solar tonneau cover charges electric pickups, provides portable power
Tonneau covers are already a popular option for pickup owners—allowing more secure, weather-protected storage, and perhaps even improved aerodynamics and highway efficiency. Adding solar panels to tonneau covers seems not only like a natural next step, but a natural complement to the numerous fully electric pickups arriving over the next... 
Some low-income homeowners in California will soon be eligible for a state-funded program that will provide free home battery systems in wildfire-prone regions. According to the solar provider Sunrun and the non-profit solar installer Grid Alternatives, which issued a joint announcement Thursday, the program is pointed specifically toward... 
Dutch startup Lightyear plans to launch an electric car powered by a combination of solar panels and batteries. That car isn't quite ready for production yet, but Lightyear is testing its solar tech on modified Tesla Model 3 sedans. Lightyear has two of these Tesla research vehicles, numbered 005 and 006, as well as a solar-equipped Volkswagen... 
Nevada is set to host the largest solar array in the United States. Last month, the U.S. Department of the Interior approved a proposal for the Gemini Solar Project, a $1 billion solar-generating facility to be located about 30 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The facility, which will be built on federally-controlled land and operated by Solar... 
In a sea of electric-car startups, Sono Motors has no problem standing out. The Munich-based company aims to build an unpainted plastic-paneled, solar-cell-covered urban hatchback primarily for Europe. It’s been largely crowdfunded—most recently, with a successful $58 million round. And the car will be made with China’s NEVS at... 
Dutch startup Lightyear has secured a supplier for its long-range electric car's solar roof. Royal DSM will partner with Lightyear to scale up production of the roof system. The two companies will also look into solar-roof applications for other cars, as well as vans and buses, Lightyear said in a press release Thursday. The roof consists of 53... 
Those who live in sunny climates—especially warm ones—see the shady spots in a parking lot as the hot commodity. But if more cars gain what the 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid has—a Solar Roof System that can actually boost all-electric miles and gas mileage—frugal drivers might instead start hunting down sun-drenched spots for... 
General Motors and DTE have partnered for what is claimed to be the largest renewable energy investment yet in the automaker’s home state of Michigan—allowing GM to assemble its upcoming electric vehicles, like the GMC Hummer EV, with clean power. Through the investment in an additional 500,000 megawatt-hours of solar... 
As solar cells gain affordability and flexibility, they’re no longer the exclusive domain of house rooftops. For electric cars, garages, and everything in, there's plenty of room for some creative ideas. One such idea was introduced in February by the French company Armor, and as reported in PV Magazine, makes the solar cells part of a... 
Electric cars and solar power are a perfect combination. Charging an electric car from a solar array reduces its overall carbon footprint. Now a Hungary-based company is bringing these two technologies even closer together with solar driveways. Platio (via Inhabitat) claims to be the first company to embed solar tiles in a residential driveway. A... 
Solar cells produce electricity without carbon emissions, but the low efficiency numbers leave a lot of room for improvement. New research suggests a possible way to boost that—possibly without a radical rethink or the introduction of rare, expensive materials. Researchers in St. Petersburg, Russia, have created a prototype solar cell using... 
Audi is offering 3,000 of its E-Tron electric SUV buyers a complimentary 10-year subscription to solar power. Under a deal with the clean-energy provider Acadia announced yesterday, owners will save some money and help with solar adoption. Audi anticipates the amount saved to be one full E-Tron charge each month per household—offsetting the... 
Solar powered cars generally face one glaring, gamestopping hurdle: Today’s solar cells don’t produce enough power to drive a standard-sized car any distance. That would take more solar cells than there is space on top of a car. Don’t tell that to Sono Motors, though. The Munich, Germany-based company, plans to bring a car... 
Walmart sued Tesla on Tuesday, alleging that solar panels that Tesla installed on seven Walmart stores caught fire. The lawsuit accuses Tesla of breach of contract, negligence, and failing to live up to industry standards, according to the court filing. Walmart alleges that the fires resulted in evacuations, and damage to property and inventory... 
Last week, after a spate of introductions of concept electric cars with solar cells, we asked our readers if such a system would add value for them. Despite a lot of reservations and skepticism, a clear majority of readers said it would. Our poll was inspired by a new concept Prius PHV (Prius Prime in the U.S.) that Toyota says can get up to 27.6... 
While Toyota has been skeptical of electric cars, the carmaker is expressing optimism about technology that can supplement plugging in: solar. Along with its battery partners NIDO and Sharp, Toyota is experimenting with a new Prius Prime in Japan (called the Prius PHV there), equipped with 860 watts of solar panels on the roof, hood, and rear... 
If you’ve seen the light with electric cars, chances are you’re at least curious about home solar. Solar can help contribute to vehicle charging, and it can help reduce the load from the electrical grid during peak charging times. And as part of energy management systems, electric cars themselves (their traction batteries) could...