By Shannon Cuthrell – EE Power
Published September 8, 2025
California-based Paired Power has developed an easy-to-install solar-powered charging system for electric vehicles. Featuring an integrated lift mechanism, PairTree takes hours to deploy instead of weeks, minimizing site disruption.
PairTree’s modular design integrates a 4.6 kW bifacial solar array with a 42.4 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery storage system, creating a self-powered microgrid suitable for remote locations. In addition to off-grid use, the system offers an optional 240 VAC grid connection. PairTree supports one or two Level 2 chargers and delivers the daily equivalent to 75 to 230 miles of range (depending on the vehicle).
Paired Power has secured a U.S. patent for its PairTree solar canopy system and installation method, which allows solar panels to be assembled at ground level and elevated into operating position.
PairTree Technology and Installation Benefits
Traditional solar canopy projects require trenching or other complex construction tasks, grid upgrades, and long approval wait times. For retail and commercial parking facilities, adding EV charging equipment often means building power lines across parking areas. Interconnecting to the grid is also time-consuming, with the typical duration from request to operation growing from under two years for projects built in the early 2000s to four-plus years by 2023, according to Berkeley Lab. Delays vary across regions. The California ISO has the longest project development timelines, around 9.2 years. Enverus Intelligence Research estimates that only 10% of projects in U.S. interconnection queues will reach operation in the next three years.
PairTree positions itself as a simpler alternative, offering one-day installations without permitting bottlenecks, interconnection delays, or parking disruptions. Orders can be scheduled in as little as eight weeks.
Paired Power’s new patent focuses on its solar canopy structural design and the installation method for raising solar panels above a foundation via an integrated lift mechanism. Conventional canopies are permanently mounted to the ground and typically require elevated scaffolding and heavy equipment like cranes, pile drivers, and front-end loaders.
Instead, PairTree uses an adjustable-height, portable structure that lets crews assemble the bifacial panels safely at ground level before the full array is elevated into place. One or two workers can complete most of the installation while standing on the ground at a lower height, without large equipment. Once raised, the canopy provides shaded parking while generating solar power for EV charging.
The solar canopy is 10.5 feet tall overall, with the structure’s base fitting well within the size of a standard parking space. It supports SAE J1772 or NACS (SAE J3400) connectors, and can operate in -20°F to 120°F temperatures. The system’s bifacial solar panels are designed to absorb light from both sides, with up to 15% higher energy production than conventional monofacial solar panels.
Each PairTree can deliver up to 60 kWh per day of solar generation (depending on conditions). With the optional grid connection, the system can supply up to 245 kWh/day of total charging capacity.
Read the full piece here
