Charlotte, NC--  Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department has specially equipped a GEM electric vehicle to run exclusively on solar power and will use this vehicle for routine maintenance, Park Watch patrol, and resource management--as a pilot project in Latta Plantation Nature Preserve. This vehicle is equipped to be energy independent. It runs for FREE. It is non-polluting!

The GEM (for Global Electric Motorcars, manufactured by Chrysler) is one of three purchased by Park and Recreation primarily with a grant from the North Carolina Solar Center at NC State University. The grant covered most of the cost of the basic vehicles, about $11,300 each. Park and Recreation provided $7000 for each vehicle, for its share of the purchase price plus accessories including doors, bumpers, ventilation system, etc. The vehicles all came equipped to run on batteries with a charger in each vehicle that plugs into a regular electric outlet. Park and Recreation then had a bank of solar panels added to one vehicle, which cost about $3300. 

Charlotte Energy Solutions installed the solar panels mounted on a rack on the back of one of the GEMs, above its rear bed. (It’s configured like a small pickup truck.) The panels were built by CBM Solar in Concord. The solar panels generate up to 280 watts of power to charge the batteries. Plug-in is no longer necessary!

Funding for the basic GEM vehicles was specifically designated to help reduce auto emissions through the Clean Fuel & Advanced Technology Project.  This project at NC State University is funded by the NC Department of Transportation, State Energy Office, and Division of Air Quality of the NC Department of Transportation.