Off grid EV charger runs on solar power with diesel back-up, not 24/7 diesel | Fact check

Kate S. Petersen, USA TODAY
·2 min read
5

The claim: Video shows EV charging station with diesel generator that 'runs 24 hours of the day, seven days a week'

An Oct. 25 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) shows an Australian electric vehicle charging station that includes a large blue diesel generator.

“Look! It’s an electric charger for an electric car, and right there that is a diesel-powered generator to run your electric charging point for your car,” a narrator says. “That generator runs 24 hours of the day, seven days a week."

The post was liked more than 200,000 times in three weeks.

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Our rating: False

The diesel generator in the station does not run 24/7. The station is powered by solar panels (which are also visible in the video) and the diesel generator provides back-up power, according to the company that built the charger.

Remote Australian EV station powered with solar and diesel backup

The charging station is a prototype that was built by the Australian National Roads and Motorists' Association to provide electric car charging in a remote part of Australia that lacks connection to the electric grid, Pete Khoury, a spokesperson for the association, told USA TODAY in an email.

"The primary source of energy for these chargers is the sun − the Australian outback gets loads of sun," he said. "The generator kicks in when the solar panels aren’t capturing enough energy and the batteries are depleted, this can occur on the off occasion it is raining or overcast."

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The association is also testing different EV charging options in an attempt to provide service in large swaths of Australia with no grid power, Khoury said.

"To give you a sense of the isolation in some of these areas, drivers of petrol or diesel vehicles driving through these locations will often be forced to carry their own fuel," he said.

USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

AAP also debunked the post.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: EV charger is solar and diesel-powered, not 24/7 diesel | Fact check