Why Gas Station Owners Should Consider Investing in Green Energy

Solar Gas Station
The guys who are selling us oil now, will be the same guys selling us green power in the following years.

Why?

They have the capital to invest into large scale renewable energy projects. And they also have the capital to do research and develop new technologies. 

Of course, consumers will not be entirely dependent on electric energy suppliers coz the costs of home solar systems and micro wind turbines will get smaller.

So if you truly want to be independent and produce your own power, you can do so now, let a lone in the future when not only technology costs will go down but appliances and gadgets will be more efficient - needing less power for the same output.

If until now all we wanted was a faster car and a faster computer, now we require extra things like recycled packaging, low carbon print, low emissions, etc. That's coz a new concept is being introduced into every human activity: sustainability.

Charging car batteries - that's where the money is

If the future is going to be all electric - and it seems we're headed that way - then there's going to be some major changes in how the transportation sector will be fueled.

Hybrid cars are just a transition towards the electric car.

But now, electric cars need to be plugged into a wall mains in order to be charged. I don't know about you but to me this is a silly solution. When you're on a long road trip, you don't wanna stop 12 hours to charge. You wanna fuel up and get going.

The way I see it is this:
  • Electric car batteries will be standardized. No matter how much power they will contain, they'll all have similar size and shape and they'll connect to the car through a standard socket.
  • Current gas stations will be selling these charged car batteries so they'll benefit by having their own green energy plants.
You drive an electric car and you stop for gas

Perhaps car manufacturers won't even make the batteries. So you may drive your Honda car, powered by a Varta battery which is being charged by Shell stations.

So you stop at the gas station. The technicians take the empty battery out and replace it with a fully charged one. Hence the need for standardization.

If you want 450 miles you buy the small battery, if you want 900 miles you buy the big one. Etc.

A closed self supplier loop

Now if gas stations will be in the business of charging and selling batteries for electric cars, they'll need as much electric power as they could get.

Depending on their location, they'll probably own solar farms, wind farms or they'll harness wave energy (if situated on the coastline).

Just as now oil companies own most of the supply chain from extraction, refining and distribution, it'll be the same in the electric car era. Producing their own electric energy would make sense considering they're gonna sell stored electricity.

And this may very well be another reason to invest in green energy - for gas station owners and for everybody else.

Over to you

Now this is just me speculating about the future. I may be wrong.

What do you think?

Let's talk. Leave a comment.


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