Envision Solar International is charging the Nikola NZT tactical electric vehicle at the Advanced Naval Technology Exercise at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base in Southern California.

The charging unit is providing an off-grid source of power in a remote area for the exercise, allowing tactical EVs and other equipment to operate away from utility grid infrastructure, simulating one type of forward operating environment.

(Click to enlarge.) The mobile charging station can be used to recharge tactical EVs in combat situations. The charging units are silent and do not give off the heat signature generally associated with internal combustion engine generators.

Envision Solar says its EV ARC product is rapidly deployed and is equipped with emergency power panels and three-phase connectors to provide a source of off-grid power.

The U.S. Secretary of the Navy has announced a goal to receive 50 percent of the energy the Navy consumes come from alternative sources by 2020.

Invented and manufactured in California, the EV ARC fits inside a parking space and generates enough solar electricity to power up to 225 miles of EV driving in a day. The system uses a tracking device to follow the sun, generating what the company says is up to 25 percent more electricity than a fixed array. Energy may be stored in an energy storage array.