Two Nissan LEAFs share sun electricity with several Mitsubishi iMiEV's at the new solar-powered EV charging canopy at Mitsubishi N. America headquarters in Cypress, Calif. [Photo Credit: Mitsubishi Motors]

They might be competitors, even arch-rivals, but one thing electric vehicle makers can agree on is that it makes lots of sense to tap clean, renewable solar electricity to power EVs.

Mitsibushi underscored this when it recently invited a couple of Nissan LEAF owners to test out the brand-new solar-powered EV charging station at its Cypress, Calif. headquarters.

The charging facility, which Mitsubishi says is the first of its kind in Cypress, is powered by 96, 175W photovoltaic modules from Mitsubishi Electric. Able to charge up to four vehicles at once, the station features three types of chargers with different voltages: standard level 1 voltage (110v) will deliver a 100 percent charge in 22 hours on the new Mitsubishi i; level 2 (220v) which can charge the vehicle in six hours; and level 3 CHAdeMO Quick Charger, which can charge to 80 percent battery capacity in 25 minutes.

Spreading the sun around
Hats off to Mitsubishi for sharing the sun – as we all know, there’s plenty to go around :-) – at its beautifully designed solar plug-in station. In fact, Mitsibushi has extended an open invitation to all EV owners who would like to test out the CHAdeMO L3 chargers that are part of its unique solar-powered EV charging station.

“If you want a free charge, come by our HQ in Cypress, CA during normal business hours. =),” was the open invitation posted by Mitsubishi on Facebook recently.

Not sure about you, but if we lived anywhere near Cypress, Calif. -- we don’t, we’re “stuck” in Colorado – and if we had an EV, we don’t yet, we’re “stuck” in Colorado -- we’d be zooming out to Cypress to suck up some solar electric rays for our EV as soon as we could.

Those of you lucky enough to live near Cypress and to have an EV, what’s stopping you?

Two Nissan LEAF owners identified by Mitsubishi as Mike and Phil, plug their Nissan LEAFs into Mitsubishi's solar-powered EV charging station in Cypress, Calif. [Photo Credit: Mitsubishi Motors]

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