Electrify America Network

GetOffYourGas said:

The “coming soon” sites are far more than hoped for. They have at the minimum gotten building permits, often the longest lead time of the whole process. More often than not, they have already broken ground by the time they are listed.

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Have to question that. My guess is they post it as soon as they have a host nailed down. We have several here that have been listed as coming soon for months and not one single grain of sand has been turned.

Looking at the pricing for the units in our area, I'm convinced they don't want people to use the chargers.. $1 connect charge plus $0.30/minute. If I charge my pathetic 2012 Leaf, I'm going to top out at 30-35kW, which will make it more to charge via one of these places than gasoline!!! Two things: They need to drop the $1 connect fee, and charge less per minute, say $0.20/min ? Honestly, unless you're charging at 150kW, that per minute price is a ripoff. I guess maybe the point is to discourage BEV owners with smaller batteries from using their units. I was super excited to see some DC fast chargers appear in my area, but now I'm just angry.

Durandal said:

Looking at the pricing for the units in our area, I'm convinced they don't want people to use the chargers.. $1 connect charge plus $0.30/minute. If I charge my pathetic 2012 Leaf, I'm going to top out at 30-35kW, which will make it more to charge via one of these places than gasoline!!! Two things: They need to drop the $1 connect fee, and charge less per minute, say $0.20/min ? Honestly, unless you're charging at 150kW, that per minute price is a ripoff. I guess maybe the point is to discourage BEV owners with smaller batteries from using their units. I was super excited to see some DC fast chargers appear in my area, but now I'm just angry.

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I am predicting now that if you buy a VW, the network will suddenly become very attractive. :evil:

GRA said:

paulgipe said:

The EA site in Madera, CA is currently under construction. They were working on it Monday. This is a very busy Walmart and the stations are close to the building so they are likely to be ICEd. I hope I am wrong. Traffic is heavy in this parking lot at least around noon when we stopped.

Paul

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Did you happen to check out the site in Selma also?

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Guy,

Sorry, no. I was stopping at the EVgo site in Madera anyway and it was just a few miles to the EA site. Someone who knows construction work may be able to guess from the photos when they'll be done. My guess is year end.

Paul

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.

Four more QCs have opened, making 6 this month and 35 total: Bowling Green, KY (I-65); Florence, SC (Jct. I-95/20); Wytheville, VA (Jct. I-81/77); and Fredonia, NY (I-90). Am I the only person who, every time they see the name 'Fredonia', gets a mental image of the Marx Brothers pelting Margaret Dumont with fruit as she starts singing "Hail, Hail Freedonia" at the end of "Duck Soup"?

Via GCC:

Electrify America opening first California EV fast charging station in Torrance; targeting 9 in California by year-end

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https://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/11/201801114-ea.html

The Country Hills Shopping Plaza in Torrance, California will be the site of the first DC fast charging station to open in the state as part of Electrify America’s plan to install approximately 160 charging stations in California by June 2019. . . .

The first California locations for Electrify America’s fast charging stations are:

• Country Hill Shopping Plaza, 2965 Rolling Hills, Torrance, CA
  Montebello Plaza, 2401 W. Via Campo, Montebello, CA
  Walmart Supercenter, 8465 Elk Grove Blvd., Elk Grove, CA
  Novato Fair Shopping Center, 900 Diablo Ave., Novato, CA
  Livermore-San Francisco Premium Outlets, 2774 Livermore Outlets Dr., Livermore, CA
  Madera-Walmart, 1077 W. Cleveland Ave., Madera, CA
  Laguna, Village, 8785 Center Parkway, Sacramento, CA
  La Mirada, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada, CA
  America’s Best Value Inn, 3930 County Rd. 89, Dunnigan, CA. . . .

Within California, average distance between stations is projected to be 48 miles.

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So we have construction spotted at Landing in Renton, WA with EA notating site on Plugshare... "recently" I guess but still have the two Walmarts in Everett posted on Plugshare 2-3 months ago that still have not broken ground...

GRA said:

Am I the only person who, every time they see the name 'Fredonia', gets a mental image of the Marx Brothers pelting Margaret Dumont with fruit as she starts singing "Hail, Hail Freedonia" at the end of "Duck Soup"?

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It might just be you.

Then again, I live in upstate NY so Fredonia is just another town somewhat nearby.

Given their plan is supposed to be completed in 7.5 months, they have a long way to go. I expect actual construction progress to slow way down as we go into the winter (at least in the north). I guess they'll have to lock down locations and permitting in that time so they can begin construction once the ground starts to thaw. Things are already covered in ice and snow here.

GetOffYourGas said:

GRA said:

Am I the only person who, every time they see the name 'Fredonia', gets a mental image of the Marx Brothers pelting Margaret Dumont with fruit as she starts singing "Hail, Hail Freedonia" at the end of "Duck Soup"?

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It might just be you.

Then again, I live in upstate NY so Fredonia is just another town somewhat nearby.

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Nevertheless, the Brothers were ecstatic when Benito Mussolini took the film as a personal insult and banned it in Italy.[7][25] Also, the residents of Fredonia, New York, protested because they feared that the similar-sounding nation would hurt their city's reputation. The Marx Brothers took the opposite approach, telling them to change the name of their town to keep from hurting their movie.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_Soup_(1933_film)#Reception

GetOffYourGas said:

Given their plan is supposed to be completed in 7.5 months, they have a long way to go. I expect actual construction progress to slow way down as we go into the winter (at least in the north). I guess they'll have to lock down locations and permitting in that time so they can begin construction once the ground starts to thaw. Things are already covered in ice and snow here.

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I definitely expect a switch to work on more southern sites for the winter, as sites on/north of the 37th parallel (south of it in some cases) should have frozen ground by now. I think they'll finish I-10 from Houston to Jacksonville, and maybe concentrate on I-95 in the Carolinas southwards, the southwest and California.

Checking the map, I see they've got three more open now, for 9 this month and 38 total: Torrance, CA (SR 1); Emporia, VA (Jct. I-95/U.S. 58); and Hagerstown, MD (I-70, east of the I-81 Jct.).

GRA said:

Nevertheless, the Brothers were ecstatic when Benito Mussolini took the film as a personal insult and banned it in Italy.[7][25] Also, the residents of Fredonia, New York, protested because they feared that the similar-sounding nation would hurt their city's reputation. The Marx Brothers took the opposite approach, telling them to change the name of their town to keep from hurting their movie.

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Lol! Touché!

Two more QCs are open, for 11 this month and 40 total: Elk Grove, CA (suburb south of Sacramento on SR 99, and #2 in CA); Wichita, KS (I-35, a bit far from I-135).

Williamsburg, KY (I-75) is open, for 12 this month and 41 total.

Memphis, TN (near Jct. I-40/US. 64) is open, making 13 this month and 42 total.

6 more open, for 18 in November and 48 total: Missoula, MT! (U.S. 93 off I-90; work must have been fun in November); Littleton, CO (S.R. 470 off U.S. 285, also not pleasant); Spring, TX (I-45 N. of Houston); Springfield, IL (Jct. I-55/I-72); Bushnell, FL (I-75, west of Orlando and N. of Tampa); Pooler, GA (I-95 N. of I-16 Jct., WNW from Savannah).

Council Bluffs, IA (Jct. I-80/I-29) is open, the first of the month and 49 total. You could drive I-80 from Denver to Des Moines now, although the return would require care between North Platte and Ft. Morgan.

Mt. Vernon, IL ( Jct. I-57 & 64) is open, #2 for the month and #50 total.

GCC:

Simon and Electrify America launch California’s first 350 kW EV charging stations

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https://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/12/20181206-simon.html

Simon . . . announced that its San Francisco Premium Outlets is California’s first location for electric vehicle (EV) charging systems featuring fast recharging speeds up to 350 kilowatts (kW) from Electrify America.

Simon teamed with Electrify America to open 10 DC fast chargers at San Francisco Premium Outlets for public use. The charging site features eight 150 kW chargers and two 350 kW chargers. The 350 kW chargers are capable of recharging an electric vehicle at 20 miles a minute providing 200 miles of vehicle driving range in just 10 minutes.

The 10 Electrify America chargers are co-located with 20 Tesla Superchargers making San Francisco Premium Outlets one of the nation’s largest multi-standard fast charging sites.

In addition to San Francisco Premium Outlets, Electrify America will install charging systems at Simon locations nationwide including 17 centers in California, with 95 additional chargers.

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Livermore, CA is open, #3 for the month and #51 total (#3 for CA).

https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ma121318?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Here's your chance to put in your 2 cents. I personally think EA is building a network that favors VW and all but ignores Chademo since they do not provide a single chademo exclusive station. I am ok with that as long as they do what EVGO did and simply make all their stations dual format. As it stands now, it is possible for single CCS EV to block a chademo EV from using the charging station despite there being several CCS options available at each location.