[SparkE]

Figure this is probably the best spot to pass on news about changes in the Calif DCFC infrastructure ...

 

[SparkE]

A new double DCFC (two units, each one CCS/CHAdeMO) location {ChargePoint} has opened on I-5 "middle" (south of Sacramento & Stockton, near Los Baños, at the I-5/CA-33 junction).

 

[SparkE]

{repost from another thread}

"Soft opening" of the Recargo "ultra fast" site on US-101 near Salinas is going on. Six 150+ kW units (installed in cooperation with the Monterey Bay Air Resources District) (re-) opens up Bolt travel on US-101 between SF Bay Area, Monterey Bay area, and Santa Barbara and L.A. There are now these 150+ kW charging in Salinas, along with the existing two 50 kW chargers just N of Santa Barbara, other 50 kW units in Ventura and the LA basin and numerous other singleton spots spread along the route.

 

[SparkE]

ChargePoint (CP) hasn't (recently) opened any the promise 50 kW stations on I-5 "North" (except the one in Yreka, about a month ago) and it's getting close to the end of Oct, which was the supposed opening deadline. (The Mt Shasta stations appears to be installed, but not turned on.)

Bolt travel up to Oregon from the SF Bay Area or Sacramento is *possible* if a bit ... uh ... possibly harrowing? (At the moment, most of the sites are single units.)

Once Electrify America (EA) opens their proposed multi-stall location in Dunnigan, CA (near the junction of I-5 and I-505) - which hopefully happens soon - it should lessen the worry-factor. And the opening of some of the CEC-financed sites along I-5 north would help a lot too.

Not CA, really, but "western states" : driving north to Portland or WA has just gotten a LOT easier, as EA has opened two locations on I-5 in OR this past week : Grant's Pass and Albany. Both locations are supposed to have *at least* 4 CCS plugs (150+ kW) and will charge the Bolt at FULL POWER (which is 55 kW max). {The location in Vancouver, WA with 6 stalls isn't yet open to the public, but the H/W seems to be installed.) This is great news for any Bolt (or LEAF2) driver who wants to drive up to WA or northern OR.

 

[NewsCoulomb]

A new double DCFC (two units, each one CCS/CHAdeMO) location {ChargePoint} has opened on I-5 "middle" (south of Sacramento & Stockton, near Los Baños, at the I-5/CA-33 junction).

Nice. PlugShare still lists it as only one DCFC, but having two onsite is really good. That used to be a primary stopping point for me in my Volt. Just one more charger, and the I-5 route is open for me in the Bolt EV (at least one direction).

{repost from another thread}

"Soft opening" of the Recargo "ultra fast" site on US-101 near Salinas is going on. Six 150+ kW units (installed in cooperation with the Monterey Bay Air Resources District) (re-) opens up Bolt travel on US-101 between SF Bay Area, Monterey Bay area, and Santa Barbara and L.A. There are now these 150+ kW charging in Salinas, along with the existing two 50 kW chargers just N of Santa Barbara, other 50 kW units in Ventura and the LA basin and numerous other singleton spots spread along the route.

The BTC Power units at the Prunedale site are 200 kW CCS and 100 kW CHAdeMO.

 

[NewsCoulomb]

Here's an update on the Electrify America site in Dunnigan:

https://youtu.be/Lw-0pW6nXH4

 

[BoltFan]

Dunnigan looks very promising but ...

It's still pretty sketch up from Corning to the Oregon Border; Chico is out, Corning is super slow 20kW; Redding the Carls Jr old 20kW is down, the 50 kW at Target is up. Yaks in Dunsmuir is currently down but someone did get it to work by turning on the breaker but now it's down again. Haven't seen Mt. Shasta new DCFCs online yet; Carls Jr. in Yreka is down (the old one) but there seems like there might be a new installed station (not sure but I hope it's a 50kW) near McDonalds next door.

The good news in Oregon is that it looks like at least 3 new Electrify America sites are now online; see their map. So it seems like Grants Pass is up which helps mitigate the super slow charger at Fred Meyers (20 kW) in Medford.

What's affecting me the most? The DCFC in Chico is down for almost two months; this really sucks. I mean the infrastructure up here is already poor; that it is also poorly maintained suggests that it's not sustainable and won't support growth or interest in EVs unless some drastic improvements are made. The only place worse than the North State is the East Side where there is virtually nothing.

Try risking a road trip to either Yosemite or Lassen National Park from around Sacramento and see how far that gets you. Or risking a road trip to Southern Oregon ... at this point in time ... or a trip to Bend, OR. (hardly feasible).

Had to vent ... simple as that.

 

[WanderingStudent]

Waiting for Baker to get back online. I'm hoping to take the Bolt to Vegas in December.

Wishing they would put a DCFC in Blythe. That would allow me to visit family in Scottsdale with the Bolt. (Saw your DCFC wishlist video, NewsCoulomb. Of course, I would've put Blythe at the top of the list for selfish reasons)

 

[cyaopec]

Waiting for Baker to get back online. I'm hoping to take the Bolt to Vegas in December.

Wishing they would put a DCFC in Blythe. That would allow me to visit family in Scottsdale with the Bolt. (Saw your DCFC wishlist video, NewsCoulomb. Of course, I would've put Blythe at the top of the list for selfish reasons)

What's wrong with Baker??? I was at the EvGo DCFC maybe a month ago and it was working.

Edit: I see. It's down for maintenance. Hmm. I wonder if they can "push out" notifications on their App.

 

[NewsCoulomb]

Dunnigan looks very promising but ...

It's still pretty sketch up from Corning to the Oregon Border; Chico is out, Corning is super slow 20kW; Redding the Carls Jr old 20kW is down, the 50 kW at Target is up. Yaks in Dunsmuir is currently down but someone did get it to work by turning on the breaker but now it's down again. Haven't seen Mt. Shasta new DCFCs online yet; Carls Jr. in Yreka is down (the old one) but there seems like there might be a new installed station (not sure but I hope it's a 50kW) near McDonalds next door.

Well, it's only "sketch" because they are limited to one 50 kW charger per site. The gap between Vacaville/Sac International airport and Redding is going to be slow without Dunnigan. Both Williams and Corning are only 24 kW. However, Redding 50 kW at Target is up, Weed 50 kW at Comfort in is up, and the 50 kW in Yreka is up. Whenever that Mount Shasta 50 kW goes up, it will help with redundancy.

What's wrong with Baker??? I was at the EvGo DCFC maybe a month ago and it was working.

Edit: I see. It's down for maintenance. Hmm. I wonder if they can "push out" notifications on their App.

EVgo is upgrading the Baker site. They thought they would be able to keep one of the 50 kW up and running while doing the renovation, but they were wrong. I believe it is scheduled to be down until 10/26 or 10/27, but they took down the dates (afraid of making overly optimistic promises, I guess).

 

[NewsCoulomb]

Also, for parts a little further south of the North State, this was an exciting development. The first Recargo site should be open to the public in the next few weeks. I'll definitely post an update when it is fully opened.

https://youtu.be/oXubVPMLVeI

 

[SparkE]

ChargePoint (CP) hasn't (recently) opened any the promised 50 kW stations on I-5 "North" (except the one in Yreka, about a month ago) and it's getting close to the end of Oct, which was the supposed opening deadline. (The Mt Shasta stations appears to be installed, but not turned on.)

Bolt travel up to Oregon from the SF Bay Area or Sacramento is *possible* if a bit ... uh ... possibly harrowing? (At the moment, most of the sites are single units.)

All I had to do was post, apparently! The (singleton) 50kW Weed site popped up as live in the CP app today.

 

[NewsCoulomb]

All I had to do was post, apparently! The (singleton) 50kW Weed site popped up as live in the CP app today.

Yup. We're still waiting to figure out what the heck is happening with the Mount Shasta location. Something tells me that it's being delayed due to some sort of administrative issue. They were dealing with some pretty bad fires (along with the aftermath), so I don't doubt approving this charger was put to a much lower priority.

 

[Paul Gipe]

Madera Electrify America DCFC Station Underway

On our way to Santa Cruz, California we stopped in Madera to charge our Chevy Bolt EV. Just a few miles north Electrify America--the VW subsidiary ordered to do penance for its dieselgate scandal--is building a much larger fast charging station. So we stopped by to see its progress.

The EA site at a Madera Walmart just off Hwy 99 is hidden behind a privacy fence. Nevertheless, I was able to peer over the top and take a couple of photos with my phone.

​

There were tradesmen working on the project and lots of equipment stored on-site, including what looks like the charging cabinets. It appeared they've yet to place the concrete for the cabinet pads and curbing, though the re-bar and conduit were in the ground.

I have no idea when EA expects the site to open but from the site's appearance it's unlikely before year end.

According to a posting on PlugShare, EA's site will have four CCS kiosks and one CHAdeMO kiosk.

​

The nearest existing DC fast-charging station is the two dual EVgo units at Madera's Save Mart. One of those units is only 100 amps.

EA's Walmart site is relatively close to the store. We visited mid-day on a Monday and traffic was heavy in the parking lot with lots of people searching for parking. It will be interesting to see if the stations get ICEd.

 

[NewsCoulomb]

On our way to Santa Cruz, California we stopped in Madera to charge our Chevy Bolt EV. Just a few miles north Electrify America--the VW subsidiary ordered to do penance for its dieselgate scandal--is building a much larger fast charging station. So we stopped by to see its progress.

The EA site at a Madera Walmart just off Hwy 99 is hidden behind a privacy fence. Nevertheless, I was able to peer over the top and take a couple of photos with my phone.

Nice. On my last trip up, I detoured to the Walmart site in Selma, but I wasn't able to where the Electrify Site will be going in. There was one section cleared for construction, but I didn't see any charging equipment. If that is where the chargers will be located, they will be farther from the Walmart but closer to the restaurants (The Habit, Chipotle, Baskin Robbins, etc.).

I don't remember if I emphasized this in my recent video about the ChargePoint Santa Nella site West Coast Electric Highway ( https://youtu.be/7sglqq3nnGU ), but even when the I-5 corridor is open, Highway 99 will still be my preferred route. These Electrify America sites will each save close to 10 minutes off of my regular charging times. That combined with the redundancy of the network and better amenities per stop simply makes Highway 99 a superior route for those traveling between Los Angeles and Sacramento.

 

[Vertiformed]

These Electrify America sites will each save close to 10 minutes off of my regular charging times. That combined with the redundancy of the network and better amenities per stop simply makes Highway 99 a superior route for those traveling between Los Angeles and Sacramento.

EA stations will also be regularly spaced along I-5. The quantity and spacing should be such that at least some of them might be at locations worth stopping at.

As a reminder, I've attached the old EA map showing planned locations.

 

[Paul Gipe]

That's a very useful map. Let's hope it's still current.

 

[NewsCoulomb]

EA stations will also be regularly spaced along I-5. The quantity and spacing should be such that at least some of them might be at locations worth stopping at.

As a reminder, I've attached the old EA map showing planned locations.

It's true, but one of the myths perpetuated by Tesla folk that's kind of ticked me off was "how much better" the I-5 route is compared to driving up Highway 99. However, that is only true if you are specifically talking about driving between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area--say Hawthorne to Fremont. It's no wonder it's a priority for Tesla folk, but implying that if you can't drive that route, you're not capable of long-distance driving takes it a bit too far.

In reality, for those of us who are traveling the length of California (i.e., north of San Francisco), the difference is not significant. And, considering much of Highway 99 is three lanes (as opposed to two lanes on I-5), trip speeds are consistently faster on 99 than they are on I-5. When you throw in the larger variety of businesses and stops along the route, it really is superior (unless you're heading to the Bay Area specifically).

Now I won't dispute that we need fast charging infrastructure along each of the main north-south corridors, but two out of three ain't bad. Throw in the two additional scenic highways (Highway 1 and Highway 395), and it's game-set-match.

 

[Vertiformed]

In reality, for those of us who are traveling the length of California (i.e., north of San Francisco), the difference is not significant. And, considering much of Highway 99 is three lanes (as opposed to two lanes on I-5), trip speeds are consistently faster on 99 than they are on I-5. When you throw in the larger variety of businesses and stops along the route, it really is superior (unless you're heading to the Bay Area specifically).

Now I won't dispute that we need fast charging infrastructure along each of the main north-south corridors, but two out of three ain't bad. Throw in the two additional scenic highways (Highway 1 and Highway 395), and it's game-set-match.

Don't forget US-101 as well.

I'm someone who generally likes to drive all the routes. Multiple hours in a car, especially driving through farmland that feels like it is on some kind of continuous loop, gets old quickly for me; a different route adds some extra spice, but unfortunately, after I've driven them all, I lose interest a bit.

Also, trying to find new routes gets a bit exotic as I go further and further out of my way. Taking US-395 would be a classic example. It's a cool route, especially with the trip over the Sierras, but it's quite a long way around. Looking southwards to San Diego via CA-86 past the Salton Sea would be another circuitous route to try to avoid same-old same-old.

I guess Chevy's “find new roads” slogan applies to me. Unfortunately, many of the “road-less-travelled” options aren't great for fast charging right now.

 

[SparkE]

Well, EA now lists : Walmart 1697, 8465 Elk Grove Blvd, Elk Grove, CA (that's a tad bit S of Sacramento on CA-99)

as being "live". No posts on PlugShare yet about it, however.

That's the 2nd one marked "live" in Calif (the first was down L.A.-way, in Torrance)