American trucking electrification experts WattEV have opened the world’s largest solar-powered truck charging depot, boasting 50 chargers including three 1.2MW megawatt rapid charging (MCS) chargers.
The new depot in Bakersfield is the fourth electric truck charging depot to be opened by WattEV, and is located to link San Joaquin Valley’s vast agricultural sector and growing warehousing complexes to California’s seaports and inland destinations.
Built across a 119-acre site and featuring a solar-powered microgrid and battery energy storage system, the Bakersfield truck charging depot features 32 grid-connected 360kW chargers as well as another 15 240kW CCS chargers and three MCS 1.2MW rapid chargers which are powered by the site’s microgrid.
WattEV CEO Salim Youssefzadeh expects that the three MCS chargers will reduce truck charging “dwell time” from hours down to as little as 30 minutes.
“Reducing the charge time to less than 30 minutes for a 300-mile range will be a game-changer in the adoption of electric trucks,” said Youssefzadeh.
“We developed all of our charging facilities to allow for the transition from the current CCS charging standard to the new, faster MCS charging, in preparation for this evolution.”
In addition to its charging infrastructure, the depot features a range of amenities including restrooms and commercial centre with lease space available for food and merchandise vendors.
The new Bakersfield depot also marks the third such charging depot WattEV has opened in California in the past month, following launches in San Bernardino and Gardena, and the fourth depot in total which started with the July 2023 launch of a depot in the Port of Long Beach.
Commissioning of the new Bakersfield depot follows three years’ worth of work for WattEV in building out the first freight corridors in the United States for public access medium and heavy-duty (MHD) electric vehicle charging.
WattEV is also in the permitting stages of development to build more solar-power charging depots in California as well as Oregon and Washington.
WattEV also offers an electric Truck-as-a-Service (TaaS) model providing fleets or individual operators with access to Class 8 battery electric trucks, maintenance support, insurance, and charging across WattEV’s network – all at a cost on par with diesel trucks.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.