A solar electric vehicle (EV) charger has been installed and activated at Richmond's Garry Point Park parking lot.
While the charger was sitting in the parking lot for at least a month, it was only activated in mid-October and will be at the park for the "foreseeable future."
This particular EV charger is part of a pilot project to see how well it works during the less sunny months in Richmond, said Clay Adams, spokesperson for the City of Richmond.
"Solar energy is a tremendous resource and something that could be ideally suited to the growing demand for EV charging," said Adams.
"The challenge, as we all know, is that sun is not something we see here on the west coast all year."
Garry Point Park was chosen for the pilot project due to its location since there is open access to the sun without too many trees or shadows blocking the EV charger, he added.
"Solar technology is certainly improving and we are looking forward to what we find out over the coming months."
EV owners can use the solar-powered charger at Garry Point Park for free during this time.
