EV Charging Microgrid Flashback and Fast Forward: New York Automobile Dealerships Install On-Site Solar and Battery Storage to Power EV Charging
Political jams and reversals notwithstanding, electric vehicle (EV) adoption continues to gain speed within the U.S.
Charging stations can now be found in a majority of U.S. counties, according to reports by Pew Research Center, and more automobile sales facilities are installing EV charging infrastructure.
Late last year, three auto dealerships in New York activated a more economical and sustainable way to charge the electric vehicles on their lot – state-of-the-art solar and energy storage microgrids.
The grid-connected microgrids were installed by Sprocket Power, a clean energy solutions provider, at Vail GMC Hummer, in Bedford Hills, Croton Auto Park, in Croton-on-Hudson, and Yonkers Honda in Yonkers.
The systems primarily use the solar energy stored in microgrid’s batteries to charge EVs on the lot.
The microgrid can optimize each dealer’s energy use, pulling power from or exporting it to the grid based on grid conditions. It also improves each dealership’s energy resilience by ensuring operations continue during power outages.
Since then, Sprocket Power has partnered with Schneider Electric on the latter’s EcoStruxure Microgrid Flex program to standardize and streamline on-site power installations. The two companies also are among more than a dozen energy transition-focused firms which created the Accelerating Resilient Energy Infrastructure Initiative.
On Thursday, Oct. 23, Sprocket Power and Schneider Electric are teaming up to present an EnergyTech webinar: “From Grid to Garage: Smarter Energy Systems for EV-Ready Dealerships.” The free one-hour webinar, sponsored by Schneider Electric, begins at 11 a.m. Eastern, 10 a.m. Central.
Earlier this year, Sprocket Power expanded its dealership microgrid portfolio with new projects at Toyota dealerships in New York. The microgrids were installed at Sunrise Toyota and Sunrise Toyota North, both on Long Island.
“We have experienced rising utility costs for years,” Jimmy Berg, dealer principal at Sunrise Toyota, said in a statement. “We are also increasingly sensitive to power outages that shut down our operations. This investment in our facility and business creates a strong investment case by controlling these costs. The resiliency benefits are an important bonus.”
The Thursday webinar on EV charging infrastructure for automobile dealerships will feature Dennis Quinn, president and co-founder of Sprocket Power, as well as Samantha Childress, director of microgrid partner strategy at Schneider Electric.
About the Author
EnergyTech Staff
Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 17 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.
Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.
He can be reached at [email protected].
EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.