A friend and I had been talking about solar trees and the viability of solar carports when they found a link to yet another solar tree design. This one is somewhat odd compared to the others. First of all, I should note that as strange or unlikely as some of us might find the plethora of designs published across the Internet, the idea of solar trees (or solar groves) is an inevitability if you foresee a future made up of electric vehicles, which I, for one, do.

As with this most recent design from Neville Mars, solar trees will act as charging stations for the Chevys and GMs of the future. So when you’re shopping or working, your car will be charging up for the ride home. It makes perfect sense. What don’t make sense are some of the designs I’ve been seeing, which seem to hold futurism and appeal in much higher esteem than functionality.

In the case at hand, Neville Mars’ solar grove is beautiful, consisting of large photovoltaic “leaves” mounted onto sleek, tree-like poles with charging stations built into their trunks. Yet the design itself makes for a lot of shading, and not just by real trees or nearby buildings, but by other panels in the tightly packed (and shady) grove. Mars says that shading was a concern but is apparently made up for by solar tracking systems built into the trees.

Perhaps the designer also foresees a technological breakthrough that’ll greatly increase the efficiency of solar panels – a very possible, if not likely, feat as we invest more time and money into that venture. But I find it hard to believe that such a design, despite its aesthetic appeal, would win over a separate but simpler design that eliminates shading of panels but still shades the consumers and commuters below.

Despite my criticism of the design, I do find it attractive. I fancy a time when we will park our quiet EVs under a solar canopy. I like to picture myself strolling beneath our energy supply… only this time, it won’t be power lines.

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Posted on August 27th in Solar Products by Dan.