This smartly wrapped Nissan LEAF sells solar -- and solar-charged driving -- for California Solar Electric. [Photo Credit: CaliforniaSolarElectric.Com]

More than two years ago we predicted that savvy solar installers and solar companies would buy electric cars, ad wrap them, and use them as rolling advertisements for the exciting synergy between solar PV and electric cars.

We were right!

Slowly but surely more and more solar installers are indeed buying (or possibly leasing) EVs, ad wrapping them, and using them as rolling advertisements for both themselves and, more broadly, for solar-charged driving.

Chevy Volts plugged into a solar canopy in Modesto, Calif. [Photo Credit: GM]

[The following article was written by the news team at Solar Panels UK]

In July of 2011, Sunlogics and General Motors announced a $7.5 million contract for Sunlogics to install solar-powered electric charging stations in GM's North American dealerships. The charging stations, called solar canopies, have already been installed at multiple dealerships and GM manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S.

Each constructed solar canopy generates enough electricity to fully charge 12 Chevy Volt electric vehicles and to also replace 25 percent of each dealership's daily grid power consumption.

The solar canopies are part of GM's broader Green Zone Initiative. Approximately 1.4 percent of GM's total U.S. energy consumption is currently obtained from renewable sources. This percentage, which seems small as a stand-alone number, is higher than any other auto manufacturer's percentage.

While there are more and more solar-charged drivers out there, some have been doing EV + PV longer than others. Peder Norby, who we first profiled almost two years ago on SolarChargedDriving.Com and who has published a few guest columns on our web site, is one of those.

He's driven 36,000 Sun Miles® and counting!

ZERO EMISSIONS RACE

The first-ever Zero Emissions Race among EVs powered by renewable energy finished in Switzerland early in 2011.

VOLT & LEAF RUN ON SUN

California resident George Parrott became among the first in the world to fuel both a Chevy Volt and a Nissan LEAF using home solar electricity.

AUTOMAKERS PLUG INTO SOLAR

Ford launched a solar energy system to help generate electricity at its Michigan Assembly Plant in March.

SOLAR-POWERED PLANE FLIES HIGH

A 100-percent solar-powered plane, the Solar Impulse, made several long-distance and historic flights in Europe this year.

UK GOES EV + PV

Alan Weeks became among the first in the UK to plug a Nissan LEAF into home solar.

SOLAR COMPANY PITCHES SOLAR-CHARGED DRIVING

Stellar Solar, a California solar installer, bought a Nissan LEAF and used it to advertise the EV + PV synergy to prospective customers.

MITSUBISHI TAPS SOLAR FUEL

Mitsubishi installed a solar-charged EV charging canopy at its North America headquarters.

iMIEVs, LEAFs SHARE SOLAR GAS STATION

Shortly after opening the solar EV charging station at its California-based N. American headquarters to the public, Mitsubishi saw several Nissan LEAF drivers share sun power with its own iMiEVs.

GM TAKES SOLAR CANOPY LEAD

GM installed several solar EV charging canopies in 2011 and plans to install many, many more in 2012.

SUNPOWER, FORD TEAM UP

Ford announced it was partnering with SunPower to help promote solar-charged driving.

SOLAR-CHARGED IN AUSTIN, TEXAS

Chevrolet, Best Buy, and SunEdison are among the companies who've collaborated to build a smart grid community in Austin that includes solar-powered homes and solar-charged EVs.

SOLAR BOAT SAILS AROUND THE WORLD

A giant solar-powered boat, PlanetSolar, embarked upon an around-the-world journey and, as of Dec. 31, 2011, was only a couple of weeks away from completing the historic trip.

FREE NISSAN LEAF

This lucky UK couple won a Nissan LEAF from the solar company that installed the solar gas station you see on their home's roof.

SWISS SOLAR GAS STATION

Switzerland saw another solar gas station go up this year, one of several hundred that have been installed in Europe so far.

GERMANY A SOLAR + EV LEADER

Yet another solar EV charging station is inaugurated in Germany here, this one in the Hanover area.

NISSAN, SUNPOWER PROMOTE EV + PV

After forging a partnership with Ford, SunPower created another with Nissan. A YouTube video promoted the parrtnership -- and showed everyone how PV + EV works.

ELECTRIC CAR GETS ITS REVENGE

'Revenge of the Electric Car', Director Chris Paine's follow-up to 'Who Killed the Electric Car', was released in late 2011.

NFL GOES SOLAR, TAPS EV + PV

The Washington Redskins installed a 8,000 panel solar canopy at FedEx Field in Sept. 2011 -- and included multiple EV charging stations to boot.

BRITISH GAS PITCHES EV + PV

British Gas began promoting solar-charged driving for its customers -- and plugged in itself with some solar-charged, and colorfully wrapped, LEAFs.

EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT PLUG-INS

EVs came into their own with the increasing availability of plug-ins such as the Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt and with the help of events such as the first-ever National Plug-In Day in the U.S.

2011 was an exciting year for solar-charged driving, as our exclusive 2011 Year in Review Slideshow (above) attests.

Please check it out!