Camp Pendleton receives Beam electric vehicle charging units

Lance Cpl. Shaina Jupiter

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

The Marine Corps is moving toward increasing the use of electric vehicles to help reduce emissions and make the service more environmentally friendly, while simultaneously strengthening operational capabilities.

As part of that move, Marine Corps Installations West's South West Region Fleet Transportation office recently received Beam solar-powered electric vehicle chargers to test for use with their fleet of government vehicles aboard several installations. The SWRFT office, who is responsible for overseeing and providing transportation support to all Marine Corps installations in the Southwest, is installing two of the chargers on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

An initiative underscoring the Marine Corps' commitment to a more energy resilient force, the Beam system is a self-contained, portable solar-powered panel designed to fit over a parking spot while also leaving space for a vehicle to park underneath it. While there are already permanent EV charging stations on Camp Pendleton to charge electric vehicles, the unique capability of Beam chargers is they are independent from the grid and can be installed immediately. These units can also be moved as needed to support mission essential tasks or be used during emergencies as a power bank, thus increasing the overall capabilities of the user.

"This unit is unique in the way that we'll be able to transport it and move wherever we see fit," said Steve DeLaTorre, the transportation operations manager for SWRFT. "It's self-contained and charged by the sun. It has batteries as well."

One of the units has already been installed, and SWRFT is in the process of determining where to place the remaining charger.

"Being renewable, not tied to the grid, gives us a lot of flexibility," said Samuel Seaman, the regional fleet manager for SWRFT. "That's very important when you're trying to support vehicles, so they'll give us a capability that we didn't have before."

Expeditionary in nature, a single unit can charge up to four vehicles at a time, with each one including an emergency box with multiple outlets for use by first responders in case of a power outage.

"If there should be an outage somewhere we could use that to get power until the battery is depleted," said Seaman.

Currently there are two Beam chargers on the installation, but SWRFT will acquire more in the future if the system meets the region's needs. Either way, SWRFT will continue exploring ways to provide greener options for the region's fleet transportation needs.