Calling San Diego LEAFs: Tuesday 11/27 Zoo EV Charging Event

[Randy]

For those LEAFers in San Diego, you're invited to come down to the zoo on Tuesday 11/27 at 10am for a special Solar to EV charging project dedication event in the zoo parking lot. The 30 minute event starts at 10:30, and there will be refreshments.

Link to register for event (for food headcount):
http://solartoevproject.eventbrite.com/#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Smart City webpage with project information:
http://www.smartcitysd.org/projects/zoo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More information about the event:

Smart City San Diego and the San Diego Zoo invite you to join us at the Solar-to-EV project dedication ceremony.

Join Mayor Jerry Sanders at the San Diego Zoo on Tuesday, November 27 for the unveiling of the Solar-to-EV Project - a 90-kilowatt solar photovoltaic canopy that will charge electric vehicles (EVs) in the Zoo parking lot.

One of the first of its kind in the region, the Solar-to-EV Project harnesses energy from the sun to directly charge plug-in electric vehicles, store solar power for future use and provide renewable energy to the surrounding community. The project will serve as a new energy infrastructure blueprint that can be replicated throughout the region and beyond, and is a cornerstone in the City of San Diego’s ongoing efforts to modernize and install innovative sustainable solutions at Balboa Park in anticipation of the Park’s centennial celebration in 2015.

California has established the most aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals in the nation. With almost 40 percent of California’s GHG emissions coming from transportation, the state’s goal to reduce transportation GHG by more than 13 million tons by 2020 is aggressive. Integrating clean transportation alternatives will be critical to achieving these goals.

The carbon dioxide saved by the Solar-to-EV Project is equal to:
• Removing 21 cars from the road each year
• Removing 189,216 lbs. of CO2 from the atmosphere
• Planting 2,788 trees and allowing them to grow for ten years

Speakers:
• The Honorable Mayor Jerry Sanders, City of San Diego
• Jim Avery, Senior Vice President of Power Supply, S D G & E
• Rick Gully, President, Zoological Society of San Diego


Looking forward to seeing some LEAF owners at the event....

Randy

 

[DaveEV]

A couple pics from the solar canopies that I took yesterday (apologize for the very poor quality! I'll try to clean them up later). There are a handful of Blink L2 stations installed (not yet turned on) and it appears that there will be 21 stations installed total (20 under the canopies and 1 in the farthest ADA spot from the entrance closest to the canopies.

Don't know if the solar canopies are generating electricity yet, but they sure look nice and appear to be complete.

 

[Randy]

They're working on commissioning the charging stations today, so it should be all systems go for the event tomorrow...Thanks for the photos....

 

[ksnogas2112]

<jealous>

 

[davewill]

Very Cool!

http://www.smartcitysd.org/files/scsd_zoo-fact.pdf

Using new battery technology, a 100 kW energy storage system will be
charged by the solar canopies and used to offset power demands on the grid
to charge the vehicles. When the battery is fully charged the excess solar
energy that is generated will go to the electric grid to provide solar power to
the surrounding community. The solar canopies will also provide shade for
approximately 50 cars in the Zoo's southeast parking area. One of the
project’s charging stations is located in a nearby ADA-accessible parking
space.

• - 10 stand-alone solar canopies, each 33' x 42'
  - 5 EV chargers, includes one ADA compliant charger
  - 90 kilowatts of solar generated
  - 59 homes worth of energy generation at peak production
  - 50 cars can park under the canopies for shade
  - 100 kilowatts of battery storage

Now if they would only learn the difference between kilowatts and kilowatt-hours...

 

[DaveEV]

• - 10 stand-alone solar canopies, each 33' x 42'
  - 5 EV chargers, includes one ADA compliant charger
  - 90 kilowatts of solar generated
  - 59 homes worth of energy generation at peak production
  - 50 cars can park under the canopies for shade
  - 100 kilowatts of battery storage

Now if they would only learn the difference between kilowatts and kilowatt-hours...

It's quite possible that the battery storage can handle 100 kW of power - the question is also how many kWh can it store. I'm sure more details will be revealed tomorrow.

Interesting that only 5 EVSEs will be installed - those are the ones I saw there Sunday, but it appeared that there was conduit run on the leg of each canopy waiting for additional EVSEs.

I can easily see 5 EVSEs being used at once at this location, especially on weekends. This Sunday afternoon there were no open spaces that would have reached one of the 5 EVSEs, despite the solar canopy being located a good distance away from the entrance.

 

[Randy]

Bump to San Diego EV/LEAFers who might see this note this morning....Please join us at the zoo for a special EV charging event....

 

[TonyWilliams]

I registered, but my car is still in the shop being fixed. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy in the dealer waiting room.

 

[gaswalla]

Are these Blink units with their 30A limitation and per hour fee?

 

[Randy]

The charging stations were installed by ECOTality on top of the solar and battery infrastructure, so, yes, they are Blinks.

There are 5 Blink units installed, with the capability to install more on adjacent solar columns. These stations are aimed at zoo patrons who will be there for a few hours, so it wasn't part of the design to make it a gas station model with high powered charging and lots of in's/out's during the day.

So the prospect of a $1/hr fee to use these charging stations is a turn off? Wow....Do you have any idea what it took to install them and get them there? $1/hr is a bargain...

 

[KeiJidosha]

Are these Blink units with their 30A limitation and per hour fee?

Balboa Park
2920 Zoo Drive
San Diego, CA 92101
5 Level 2 Chargers (30 amp capable)
4 Ready / 1 Busy / 0 Unavailable

Blink Plus: $1.00 per 1 hour
Blink Basic: $1.50 per 1 hour
Blink Guest: $2.00 per 1 hour

 

[smkettner]

I would not mind the $1.50 if it was charged at 10 minute intervals and stopped when charging stopped. Although I do understand I should move the car and continuing to accumulate a fee is probably the best incentive to move. Trouble is it can take significant time to leave the park, unplug, repark, return to find family and figure out what I missed. Does not really make a great day IMO. Yes I think it should be 50 cents per hour so I can leave it there a full 6+ hours and not worry about the cost or disrupting my day with the kids. If all are consistantly taken then just add more.

Otherwise I will just take the Subaru

 

[DaveEV]

My only concerns with the stations is that area of the lot always fills up on weekends - will there be signs to prevent ICEing? It is nice that each station will probably be able to reach at least 4 parking spots if not more.

At least the there are other stations within a 5-15 minute walk of the zoo, but in my experience those are also very popular on weekends.

How did the inauguration go?

 

[TonyWilliams]

Does not really make a great day IMO. Yes I think it should be 50 cents per hour so I can leave it there a full 6+ hours and not worry about the cost or disrupting my day with the kids. If all are consistantly taken then just add more.

Otherwise I will just take the Subaru

Why not 25 cents an hour ? Heck, free !

Personally, I hope these are pricy enough to keep the EVSE's available for people who really need them and enjoy supporting the infrastructure. Plus, it should be at a price that prevents camping out for six hours in a rare, valuable resource because somebody might be inconvenienced to move their car.

But, this is a tired topic. I get it. Many LEAF drivers are incredibly cheap.

 

[smkettner]

Have you ever walked the SD Zoo? It is not so much about the money or being cheep. The place is huge to just think you will pop out and move the car. If you expect me to take 30 to 60 minutes out of my kids day it is a PITA. Or I can pay $12 to let it sit the whole visit but that does not help the next guy.

Of course I wonder what the payback would be to put in 4 Leviton 160 and charge nothing vs install 1 of the state of the art BLINK.
Family of 4 still pays $148 to visit.... do you think $2 of electric supplied by the solar panels is going to kill them? I wonder what the electric bill per person already is to keep the place running. Should they charge extra for patrons that stay past dusk and they have to turn the lights on?
What if free electric had me there once a year instead of every 3 years.... It is not like the Zoo is filling my truck up to the tune of $85 like the general public thinks.

Nevermind, rant over.

Good luck to the SD Zoo.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Have you ever walked the SD Zoo? It is not so much about the money or being cheep. The place is huge to just think you will pop out and move the car. If you expect me to take 30 to 60 minutes out of my kids day it is a PITA. Or I can pay $12 to let it sit the whole visit but that does not help the next guy.

I actually carry a family pass to the zoo. I've been there with relatives and friends from all over the world.

You're right about cost not being the issue to not move your car.

 

[Randy]

Of course I wonder what the payback would be to put in 4 Leviton 160 and charge nothing vs install 1 of the state of the art BLINK.

Installing four Leviton 160s would cost $4,200 (at $1,050 each) for the hardware and probably about $20,000 - $25,000 for the installation. Never mind that the Leviton 160 is a residential unit and doesn't have a payment mechanism built in.

To answer your question of what the payback would be, I'm confused. Spend about $24,000 to $29,000 for 4 units, pay commercial rates for the power consumed, and "Charge nothing" to use them doesn't equate to a reasonable payback period (no matter how you slice it).

Free don't work....I think it's unreasonable to expect hosts to fork over the big money to install charging stations and operate them without getting some of those costs reimbursed. $1 per hour doesn't cover all the costs...

 

[smkettner]

I guess I did not realize the Blink was provided and installed for free.
I would be curious what the revenue share the Zoo actually gets.
Hopefully Blink actually maintains the units at no additional service fee.

Leviton 160 is $800 shipped from Home Depot. Probably a nit compared to the solar shade covers and power storage installation. Electric or trenching is already getting done so I am thinking the Leviton would be closer to $1,050 installed on top of the other infrastructure.

What if free charging was added to the annual pass benefits? Lots of other goodies so why not?

 

[davewill]

...Leviton 160 is $800 shipped from Home Depot. Probably a nit compared to the solar shade covers and power storage installation. Electric or trenching is already getting done so I am thinking the Leviton would be closer to $1,050 installed on top of the other infrastructure.

What if free charging was added to the annual pass benefits? Lots of other goodies so why not?

I don't think you really understand. The cost of the EVSE just doesn't figure into the equation. It's all about the installation and on-going maintenance. Blink runs the units, takes care of the maintenance, customer service, etc... If the Zoo, and a million other businesses each had to take responsibility of ongoing operations, maintenance, upgrades, liability, etc... they'd probably simply pass on the whole idea.

Besides, why are you so concerned about the charging cost? $1 an hour isn't unreasonable, especially on top of the costs of a trip to the zoo. If you're really cheap, you'll come out and move the car as soon as it's done. Most people will probably let the extra $2-10 accrue rather than disrupt their family outing. If lots of people are doing that and the units are always in use, there will be incentive to increase the number of units.