Basic Energy Corp to tie-up with Total to test “solarized” gas stations for e-transpo project
Basic Energy Corp [BSC 0.53 3.92%] is the company that was just recently used by Rafael Villavicencio to acquire a 60% interest in Filoil.
The tie-up with Total, a separate chain of gas stations that has dealt with Filoil in the past, will see a group of energy companies spend P40 million to install solar panels and charging infrastructure on 30 gas stations, as part of a pilot project for the Green Energy E-Transport project.
The 30 “solarized” gas stations will support up to 60 “Basic E-buses”. Fully realized, the Green Energy E-Transporation project envisions a network of 1,500 solarized retail gas stations around the country, supporting up to 3,000 of these Basic E-buses.
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It feels crazy for a country that is just in the middle of its gas-powered car boom to start thinking about the transition away from gas-powered vehicles, but that’s exactly where we are and that’s exactly what this is all about.
To me, the “solar” side of this, where solar panels are installed to passively gather the electricity needed to charge the Basic E-buses, is really not anything I care a lot about.
Gas stations are already connected to the regional electrical grid to power signs, cash registers, coolers, and lights, so the addition of solar panels doesn’t add a capability to a gas station that doesn’t already exist.
What really matters, in my opinion, is the charging infrastructure that will be installed along with the solar panels.
We don’t have a lot of information on what the infra will be, but if it’s paired with solar panels, chances are that there’s some kind of battery storage tech involved (buses likely run during the day when the sun is producing energy; buses that aren’t in the dock can’t charge), but even this is less important to me than the possibility of a 1,500-station network of charging stations.
Right now, the stations might only be able to facilitate Basic E-buses, but could these charging points be recommissioned, at some point, to serve as a retail network of charging stations for the EV cars that will (inevitably) enter the market?
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Merkado Barkada's opinions are provided for informational purposes only, and should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any particular stock. These daily articles are not updated with new information, so each investor must do his or her own due diligence before trading, as the facts and figures in each particular article may have changed.
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