New Zealand just opened the first roadside solar powered electric vehicle charger located in the city of Tauranga. 

The station has room for 2 cars and pulls power from 18 solar panels. The panels collect solar energy and power cars during the day, with excess energy being fed back into the grid. On days without sun, the cars can still be powered from the grid. The station has a screen that shows the user exactly how much charge is coming from solar energy and how much is coming from the grid.

Trustpower will provide the station with a years worth of free power and the Tauranga City Council is providing up to 2 hours free parking as well. The station is designed to draw attention to the idea of electric cars because the current number, while on the rise, is low.

The governments goal is to have 64,000 Electric Vehicles on the road by 2021.