These EV Fast Chargers Are Completely Off-Grid—And Free

• A California startup has installed a DC fast charging station that’s powered entirely by the sun.
• Located on I-15, the station has four CCS1 ports sharing 360 kW; a massive 3.6 MWh battery pack keeps the lights on around the clock.
• The startup’s first off-grid EV charging station is also free—for now, at least.

A California startup called PowerStation Charging has recently turned the lights on at an EV fast charging station that’s completely powered by the sun. And best of all, it’s free.

The station, located at the Rasor Road exit off I-15 in Baker, California, doesn’t have a grid connection. Instead, no fewer than 1,080 solar panels feed up to 640 kilowatts to a massive 3.4-megawatt-hour battery pack that enables the station to function around the clock, even when there’s no sunshine. YouTuber Scott Allison had a chance to recharge his Kia EV9 there and published a video documenting the experience.

Currently, PowerStation’s first location has four CCS1 ports sharing a 360-kW output, but the company said that it will add six NACS ports later this summer, and that the shared power output will increase to 600 kW. An 8,000-square-foot underground bunker with a lounge and bathrooms is also in the works. The shared power output is split between all the EVs that are charging at once—if just one car is plugged in, it will benefit from the full output; if two or more EVs are charging at the same time, each will get a portion of the output.

The startup says that there’s no app or membership needed to charge here, and that topping up is completely free until May 31, 2026. After the cutoff date, prices will vary between $0.30/kWh and $0.45/kWh, depending on demand and the sun’s brightness.

PowerStation claims on its website that three more solar-powered DC fast charging stations are in the works. A second location on the I-15 is due to open this year near Barstow, while two more are scheduled to become operational in 2027 on the I-10 and the I-8.

This is part of a growing trend of renewable-fed and battery-backed charging stations popping up in the U.S. Tesla’s biggest Supercharger station, opened late last year in Lost Hills, California, relies entirely on solar power and multiple battery packs to energize up to 164 EVs at once. The station has 11 MW of solar panels, which double as a canopy that shades the parking spots, coupled with 10 Megapack batteries totaling 39 MWh of energy storage.