Combining two technologies that can help us to address global warming, air pollution, and water pollution, the City of Corona recently took an innovative step forward by installing solar panels on a bus shelter.

The new bus shelter was designed and installed by Solade Concepts based in Corona, CA. The solar structure consists of products and solutions proposed by Go Green Solar, based in Los Angeles, CA, which include six SANYO HIT-210NKHA6 210-watt HIT Power® solar panels with six Enphase Energy M210-84-240-S12 micro inverters and a LED lighting solution in an on-grid solar system.

There are other solar-powered bus stations out there, but what is really unique about this one is that it is on-grid not off-grid. In other words, this bus station is acting as a mini (yes, very mini) power station.

With bus stops every 650 to 950 feet in many cities, however, this can add up to a decent amount of power.

“The solar panels on top of Corona’s bus shelter are grid-connected which means the energy is contributed to the grid when the power is needed the most, during peak hours.” said Andrew Ferrick, President of Solade Concepts, a manufacturer of solar structures. “The meter will spin backwards during daylight hours, offsetting the City of Corona’s electric bill for its traffic signals and streetlights.”

“The grid-tie solar bus shelter is a perfect example of micro-generation. The solar technology available today combined with structures which exist in our environment have the potential to be mini distributed solar power plants with the combined potential to contribute megawatts of power back to our grid.” said Deep Patel, Founder & CEO of GoGreenSolar.com, a supplier of green energy products.

Patel was the one responsible for choosing the solar equipment that was used in the Corona Solar Bus Shelter. In order to get the most output out of such a limited amount of space, he chose SANYO HIT Power® solar panels, which reportedly generate the most watts per installed square foot of anything on the market, and GoGreenSolar’s very own Enphase Energy Micro Inverters.

The solar bus shelter in Corona is expected to generate 1,748 kilowatt-hours annualy.

 cleantechnica.com