Antioch, Calif.’s Tri Delta Transit installed an innovative solar charging station at the new Oakley Park & Ride, which is set to open this month.

The charger, a Beam EV ARC 2020, is the first of its kind in Contra Costa County. The EV ARC 2020 is an energy charger that takes no construction or electrical work. The four plug-in capacity charger is pre-made and was recently delivered by truck. The unit anchors to the ground by using a heavy plate that requires no foundation work.

Designed to fit a standard parking space, a vehicle can park in one of the four designated parking spaces, plug in and charge. The BeamTrak solar array moves to maintain the best angle of the sun to provide uninterrupted operations and charges up to 265 e-miles a day.

“Since the charging station is completely off the grid, charging can take place day or night, in bad weather or good, or in the event of a grid failure,” says Tri Delta Transit COO Steve Ponte. “It produces a reliable and consistent slow charge and can serve to operate in a black out or power failure.”

Under CEO Jeanne Krieg’s 31-year leadership, Tri Delta Transit has been ahead of the game in areas such as green business certification, implementing computerized dispatch systems, operating on-demand bus transportation, and adopting apps for mobile ticketing, real-time route arrival information, hazard reporting, and passenger counts. In addition, Tri Delta Transit was an early adopter of electric buses and will be using hydrogen fuel in the future.