GE, UGE Pair Wind Turbines with EV Charging Technology

GE and wind turbine maker Urban Green Energy have installed what they call the world’s first integrated wind-powered charging station for electric vehicles, and announced plans to add more this year in the US for commercial and government customers.

The Sanya Skypump, which pairs UGE’s vertical wind turbines with GE’s electric vehicle charging technology, was installed at Cespa’s headquarters near Barcelona. Cespa is the environmental services subsidiary of Ferrovial Servicios, one of the world’s largest private transportation infrastructure investors.

The Sanya Skypump is designed for commercial and government customers, such as shopping malls and universities. The system delivers power through a GE DuraStation EV charger, which allows for faster charging using higher voltages, powering up a Chevy Volt in four hours. These are the same units deployed in London during the Olympics to power a fleet of zero-emission cars.

The 4-kilowatt 15-foot Skypump is designed to fit anywhere, including dense urban areas, and can be assembled in just a few hours, GE said. The blades rotate along the vertical axis inside a five-foot radius.

The system is part of GE’s plan to offer drivers as well as commercial customers a range of easy-to-use, flexible systems to help make electric vehicles a practical, everyday reality, said Charles Elazar, marketing director of GE Energy Management’s Industrial Solutions business in Europe.

Last summer GE opened one of the first solar carports for charging electric vehicles, in Plainville, Conn. The company also launched EV home charger WattStation, which is now sold at Lowe’s and Amazon. GE and EV manufacturer CODA Automotive finalized an agreement that will allow buyers a chance to bundle the WattStation with their car purchase.

Earlier this summer, an investigation by Nissan and GE into reports that the WattStation home charger damaged 11 Leaf electric vehicles found that the car’s software can allow damage to occur while using certain chargers in specific circumstances, such as during momentary dips in the power supply.