By integrating solar power production with EV charging the Brightfield™ Charging Station concept solves three critical issues: it moves us away from fossil fuel, it generates revenue while EV charging demand grows, and it provides locally harvested fuel.Here in western North Carolina our electricity comes mostly from coal strip mined in Virginia and West Virginia through the process known as mountain top removal.  In fact, North Carolina leads the nation in mountain top removal coal use.  Switching from oil to coal for our transportation sector provides a net environmental gain because the electric motor is much more efficient that the internal combustion engine.  But the mining and burning of coal perpetuates the environmentally destructive consequences of burning any fossil fuel namely air pollution, water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.  There’s no way around the fact that coal fired electricity will play a major role in the EV transition, but Brightfield is proving that by incorporating solar power generation from the onset, we can phase in the solar capacity needed to fuel the growing regional fleet of EVs.  Doing so will reduce pressure to build new coal-fired power plants as electricity demand increase to meet EV need while increasing the amount of renewable energy deployed. As far as the revenue generation goes, The solar power generated by Brightfields is bundled and sold on the energy markets as Renewable Energy Credits (REC).  The RECs are purchased by individuals and companies looking to stimulate renewable power generation and/or offset their own non-renewable electricity use.  In North Carolina the RECs are purchased by NC Green Power.  The revenue from the sale of RECs covers Brightfield operations and maintenance costs and provides cash flow to Brightfield.  This is particularly valuable while we wait for the  EVs  the Brightfields will serve to arrive.  With integrated solar power generation, the Brightfield Charging Station is productive from day one every moment the sun is shining. The result is that abundant local sunshine is harvested by the Brightfield’s solar array and put on the grid to power your car.  Local fuel is secure fuel.  When we buy our imported oil refined as gasoline at the pump, only a few cents per gallon stays in the local economy.  The rest leaves immediately to be deposited in far away corporate and foreign-nation bank accounts.  But when we harvest sunshine and send it onto the grid and then draw off the grid to fuel our EVs, more of our fuel dollars stay local where they can serve the local economy. Integrating solar power production and EV charging is environmentally, socially and economically beneficial.   There are few products out there in the world today that enable you to improve the environment, put people to work, keep money on local communities, decrease consumer fuel costs, increase local manufacturing, and inspire us all.  That’s what the solar power generating Brightfield Charging Station does.