Presumably the intention is to run the charging station on renewably sourced electricity eventually and the diesel generators are a temporary measure.

Interestingly there was back-to-back economy test of a A Volvo V70 diesel and Tesla Model S charged by a static diesel generator. It was a fairly controlled test and both vehicles did the same test route.

The anticipated result was that the Tesla would "use" more diesel than the Volvo but it actually used slightly less. This was probably because of two things. Firstly the diesel generator was running at a constant, optimum speed, maximising its efficiency. And secondly, the Tesla had regenerative braking, that recovered 15-20 % of the energy used in driving.

There was a video of this on youtube a few years ago.

Edited by Sofa Spud on 04/10/2023 at 08:06

Would that mean the average driver 'wastes' 15-20% of fuel on braking?

I guess it would. If you consider how much better fuel economy is at a constant speed, compared to stop-start driving, then it makes sense. Of course, on a motorway regenerative braking does nothing (until you hit traffic and have to slow down)