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Greece has launched the country’s first electric-vehicle (EV) charging station powered solely with energy generated by the sun.

The charging station, installed at the Technological Educational Institute of Pireaus, is fitted with photovoltaic solar panels.

A full charge takes 3-4 hours and the station can accommodate both cars and motorbikes.

The charging station has a very good rate of energy efficiency, with 80-85 per cent of the energy produced by the solar panels being captured. 

It also functions as an educational tool, and will be used in teaching and research for students and graduate researchers on renewable energy and EVs.

Solar-powered EV charging stations have been suggested as a useful piece of infrastructure for Greece’s approximately 220 constantly sunny inhabited islands.

 
Original author: Lewis Macdonald