Construction of a solar-charging station with 30 chargers is underway at Nissan Americas headquarters in Franklin, Tenn.

Nissan North America, Inc. has begun installation of 30 solar-assisted charging stations at the Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant and the Nissan Americas headquarters in Franklin, Tenn. The advanced solar chargers will be operational for use by Nissan employees and visitors by July 1.

“These solar-assisted charging stations demonstrate our dedication to a zero-emissions society, and our dedication to bringing innovation to our home in Tennessee,” said Carlos Tavares, chairman, Nissan Americas.

The charging stations illustrate the ability to reduce the impact to the electrical grid through the use of solar power and energy storage. They employ the same lithium-ion battery cells that also power the Nissan LEAF, an innovation that allows Nissan to study the battery’s storage capacity as well as demonstrate the second-life use for lithium-ion batteries beyond their use in automotive applications.

Nissan is working with the U.S. Dept. of Energy, which is funding the stations through a matching grant, as well as Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Tennessee Valley Authority, with which Nissan will share usage and technical data from the solar chargers for further study.

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