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Slowly but surely we continue to evolve towards a non-petroleum based driving culture. Granted, it's going to take decades, but it's beginning to emerge:

Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations are beginning to sprout up in the United States as the push for electric cars accelerates. With that effort, however, comes a growing concern that a surge in EV adoption will overload the existing power grid unless something is done to manage when charging occurs -- or to offset or entirely avoid such a drain.

By integrating EVs into home energy systems, an electric car could serve as potential power source to "give back" to the grid when necessary. With solar power also in a home, the energy system could supplement the grid rather than draw from it. A solar-powered carport charging system could do the same.

It looks like General Electric is leading the charge in this area:

General Electric and Inovateus Solar are working together to offer solar-powered carports equipped with charging stations for electric cars -- a concept that enables large-scale EV charging in commercial and corporate parking lots without a huge draw on the grid.

GE's partnerships enable the company to plant two more stakes -- one for commercial applications and one for residential -- into the market for electric car support systems and networks.

"I think we have a unique offering here," said Chris Bowler, marketing leader for GE Energy Industrial Solutions. "It provides a solution as a system. That's the thing that's important -- a solution that's also a system."

Other companies are jumping on the electron band wagon, too!

Charging stations for electric vehicles are expected to sprout up at 800 Walgreens stores by the end year -- the most EV stations hosted by any retailer. EV drivers who want to recharge their cars at a Walgreens will find one of two types of devices: a high-speed direct current charger, which can add 30 miles of range in roughly 10 minutes, or a Level 2 device that adds as much as 25 miles of range per hour of charge.

Imagine a world where you drive up to your EV station and fill up on electrons. Won't that be fun?

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