Figure this is probably the best spot to pass on news about changes in the Calif DCFC infrastructure ...
The BTC Power units at the Prunedale site are 200 kW CCS and 100 kW CHAdeMO.{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.
All I had to do was post, apparently! The (singleton) 50kW Weed site popped up as live in the CP app today.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.)
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.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.
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).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.
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.).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.
Recargo also has an installation going in just north of of the Pismo Beach Outlets. It will only be a four-charger installation (100 kW, I believe), but it was supposed to be completed before the end of the year. When I stopped by, construction hadn't started, so I really doubt it will be up and running before late January.Construction is occurring at the Electrify America/Pismo Beach Premium Outlet site. I've posted pictures on Plugshare. It looks like there will be two separate installations, one smaller with perhaps one outlet and a much larger one. They are located at what I think is the North end of the shopping center near the Nike Factory Store. Wish I could have gotten more complete pictures but didn't want to intrude on the ongoing work. A company representative at their service center was aware of the construction but could give no date of completion. A construction worker at the site indicated, "After the first of the year," which wasn't that helpful. It would be good if this site is finished since there seem to be no fast charging stations on the actual central coast. If you are not staying at a hotel with a charger, you are pretty much stuck with the California Market chargers (both in use today when I arrived) or the Arroyo Grande parking chargers, both of which are Level 2. This would be a great alternative and free up travel to, from, and in this area IMHO.
No worries. I don't really mind the Elk Grove chargers being so close to the store. They are only 50 kW, and they are really designed for local drivers. I thought the Madera site was supposed to be the faster 150 kW to 350 kW, so that's definitely one where you want the spaces reserved for travelers.NewsCoulomb, being rather a newbie forum member, I don't get how to quote you so my apologies for that. About the Selma site from your last post, I agree that the likely site for the chargers is the open area near the restaurants. That would be the best place, I think. From what I've seen from the Wal-Mart installations in Elk Grove and Madera, they are too close to the store and in very busy areas of the parking lot. The likelihood of the spaces being ICEd seems high and there are likely to be many people walking through the area, so not the greatest placement.
That could be as much about Tesla as it is about those other public charging providers. Recargo specifically is a very positive player in the public charging space. A recent example of this is that they are in full support of Electrify America's build out while ChargePoint and EVgo are upset about the potential competition.A little over two years later, I have the following observations:
1. We've heard nothing more on a possible partnership with Tesla.
Perhaps, but Audi and Porsche clearly announced that their vehicles would ultimately be capable of 350 kW charging. Even if those vehicles aren't available now, it appears that the charging providers are using the capabilities of the CCS and CHAdeMO standards to dictate charging speeds.2. It would appear that the third parties are proceeding with the installation of DCFC hardware that exceeds the capabilities of the current generation of EVs rather than figuring out what each automaker's internal capabiilities are.
I think the MyChevy app is a good stopgap, but ultimately, I see Google Maps taking that over and incorporating it into its navigation functionality. Essentially, my 2017 Chevy Bolt EV is already "future proofed" by having access to Apple Car Play and Android Auto capability.3. The next wave of EV adopters will need a relatively simple way of finding the next charging station a la Tesla, preferably by way of an on-screen app that can not only read the distance to their next preferred DCFC location but the amount of charge that will be remaining by the time they arrive at that location. In other words a fail safe for user miscalculation. If the automaker is unable to incorporate such software internally in their EVs, they need to provide an app such as myChevy that can monitor power consumption and correlate that information with the DCFC destinations at the traveler's disposal.
I agree, and none of the current automakers (including Tesla) are acing that yet. Tesla gets it the best, by essentially holding their owners hands through the entire process of making long trips in their EVs; however, Tesla hardware still leaves something to be desired for someone who is coming from an ICE vehicle platform.Ashley Horvat has correctly identified, but grossly underestimated, the needs of the next wave of EV adopters. They will almost NEVER give a rat's a$$ about Wh/mile, the minutiae of charging cycles, or any of the other mental exercises that most current EV adopters are trying to wrap their collective heads around in an effort to make the transition to sustainable transportation viable. What they will care about is a) being able to get in their EV and drive to where they want to go, and b) having enough juice in the batteries to accomplish that task.
The closer to simple that process is, the sooner mass adoption of EVs will occur. The more complex, the slower the transition will occur.