The big news in the EV world is that the EPA has officially rated the Nissan LEAF at 99 miles per gallon. The designation has generated plenty of talk and controversy on the internet. But, as far as we can tell, no one's been talking about how many Sun Miles® the LEAF will be able to roll up.

Sun Miles® is SolarChargedDriving.Com's term for miles driven by an electric vehicle (EV) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) whose batteries have been charged using solar energy and/or using electricity from kWh credits amassed via solar offset generation.

The answer to the question of how many Sun Miles® the LEAF -- or any other EV will get -- is pretty simple: Your EV will get as many Sun Miles® as you produce with a home solar system.

Of course, you'll need a home solar system to produce Sun Miles®, and, as far as we're concerned, the bigger the better. That is, the bigger the solar system, the more Sun Miles® it'll produce for your LEAF, Ford Focus Electric, Tesla Roadster, etc.

In our humble opinion, the best scenario -- and we realize not everyone can achieve this -- is one in which your home solar system covers 100 percent of your home electric use plus all of the annual miles you drive in an EV. That way, you'll know for sure your electric LEAF not only gets 99 miles per gallon -- whatever that really means -- but that it's 100-percent sun-powered too.

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