We Did It! Green Power Delivered in Extreme Conditions
At Renewable Innovations, our mission is to deliver clean renewable energy anytime, anywhere. A remarkable example of this mission in action was delivering EV charge for an off-road EV competition across 2,500 km of Nevada/California desert while also powering a small village as it moved daily across the desert.
Let’s take a look into what Renewable Innovations delivered at this year’s Rebelle Rally:
The Rebelle Rally 2021
The Rebelle Rally is the first women’s off-road navigation rally in the United States. It takes hundreds of participants across the desert for 12 days.
Rebelle Rally added an electric designation and Renewable Innovations delivered the power for all participating auto manufacturer’s EV, PHEVs, and as well as six different base camps across rugged desert terrain.
The Challenge
Rapid recharge of all EV vehicles multiple times daily
Provide power for all the facilities at the base camp every day (200+ people)
Perform in any type of weather and desert conditions
All assets/systems need to be mobile as the operations move frequently in the desert
All assets need to withstand harsh conditions including heat, cold, sand, and extreme winds
Providing power in a small and reduced footprint (as determined by Bureau of Land Management) to limit disturbance/destruction of environment
The Solutions
Mobile Energy Command - Solar (MEC-S) trailer. 50 kW of adjustable solar panels storing energy in 220 kWh batteries. Customized inverters then deliver the needed power 24 X 7 to the camp.
Mobile Energy Command - Hydrogen Powered EV Rapid Charging (MEC-H2EV). Stored H2 feeds 8 fuel cells which in turn deliver 240 kW of DC power to manage close to 700 kWh of batteries which then power 0.5 MW of Inverter power. Dual 180 kW chargers are used to rapidly recharge vehicles with a 100 kW buffer for other operational needs.
Rugged mobile design prepared for rapid deployment in 53 ft container
MEC-S : Mobile Energy Command - Solar
Supported by Nature
There are not many human activities that work so well with nature, but the use of EVs in the Rebelle Rally is one example of balance and harmony.
When the charging of the EVs and the power for the base camps are supported by the solar energy of the previous day, we were approaching an environmental equilibrium.
Open and Collect
The MEC-S, which was designed and manufactured by Renewable Innovations, includes the revolutionary SmartFlower solar panels that follow the sun from sunrise to sunset. This maximizes the amount of solar energy stored in the large capacity onboard battery.
System benefits include: low to no signature, silent operation, no emitting fumes, compact footprint, primary or backup power, scalable, and safety protection in strong winds.
Community Power
Across the 12 days of this rugged desert competition, the support team and competitors all needed to be fed, showered, housed, etc... This all takes electricity and there are not many power points in the desert rocks!
Renewable Innovations came to the rescue and provided all the power for this small roaming village while they made it possible for the rally racers to be out there doing it every day.
MEC-H2EV : Mobile Energy Command - Hydrogen
Unprecedented Performance
This is not your typical parking lot EV charging stand and there is no time to plug in the EV and wait all day (or all night) for it to be ready. The rally, the terrain and the vehicles make big demands on their environment and this includes the electrical power available.
Rapid Charging Every Time
The Renewable Innovations Rapid EV Charge System not only allowed the EV rally cars to be recharged in record time but the whole operation was designed to be powered by carbon-free energy.
This is a record-breaking and history-changing story about everyday EVs used in very extreme conditions and scenarios.
Rapid EV Charging
180 kW rapid EV chargers were available for all EV and PHEV competitors at any time and made it possible to recharge in minutes rather than hours.
Carbon Free Power
One of the major considerations for the Rebelle Rally is the fuel required to drive for more than 8 days. Renewable Innovations was not only able to provide plenty of energy to rapidly recharge all the EVs and run all the basecamp facilities, but RI did it with no cost to the environment. Hydrogen and Solar energy combined to make it carbon-free all the way!